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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 has 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 most mountainous areas in the country, where most urban centers are situated, experience "slightly warm" to "warm" indoor apparent temperatures in summer in 50% of the diurnal cycle. The Jordan Valley and the desert experience high indoor apparent temperatures in summer with warm and hot conditions for the most part of the diurnal cycle. Cold conditions prevail over most parts of the country in winter, with the heating degree days ranging from 2200 in the southern mountains to values close to zero near the Dead Sea area. Mountainous and desert areas experience cold or very cold conditions in more than 75% of the diurnal cycle. 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the prevalence of ambiguous citizenship policies that say one thing in law and another in implementing regulations, few studies have focused on systematically studying this type of implementation gap, particularly in contexts beyond North America and Europe. This largely has remained the case despite research on discursive policy gaps, which occur between a policy's stated objectives and its laws, efficacy gaps, which describe when a policy's outcomes fail to meet its goals, and compliance gaps, which reflect disparities between a state's commitments to international law and its corresponding domestic policies. How can we advance conceptualizations of law-regulation implementation gaps? This paper proposes one approach by focusing on the content of domestic laws, on the one hand, and the content of related implementing regulations, on the other. When law-regulation discrepancies occur, they illustrate the agency of senior officials in writing this intentional ambiguity into different levels of legislation, challenging assumptions about institutional weakness and lower-level bureaucratic discretion as chief drivers of implementation gaps. The paper illustrates this concept by analyzing discrepancies between Jordan's nationality and passports laws and their related implementing regulations, particularly regarding Gaza refugees' access to passports, investors' access to nationality, and Palestinian-Jordanians' subjection to nationality withdrawals. These diverse cases of intentional ambiguity demonstrate that such gaps can serve to partially exclude or include a group and can occur with noncitizen and citizen as well as more or less vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The involvement of the private sector in fostering sustainable development is propelled by significant advancements in commercial and industrial spheres. However, despite these advancements, there is a noticeable decline in corporate social responsibility, attributed to various factors such as scepticism among owners or board members regarding sustainability concepts and the perceived high costs associated with adopting sustainable technologies. This paper endeavours to investigate the relationship between community responsiveness and the extent of businesses' commitment to sustainability in the context of Jordan. Utilizing a mixed methods approach comprising interviews and a comprehensive questionnaire, data was collected from a sample of two hundred and ten members of the Jordan community through an online platform. The collected data underwent rigorous analysis including descriptive and regression analyses as well as relevant correlations. Encouragingly, the findings of this study reveal a robust association between individuals' social consciousness and their support for businesses and organizations operating within the Jordan community. Future research endeavours could further explore additional influential factors. The conclusions drawn from this research hold potential significance as they may provide valuable insights for incentivizing businesses to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency in cultivating a genuine societal commitment to sustainability, thereby contributing to scholarly discourse on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to investigate the moderating role of corporate governance on the relationship between earnings management and debt level in capital structure. The paper used a hypothesis-testing research approach to gather data from the annual reports of 13 industrial companies listed on Palestine Exchange and 25 Jordanian companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange from 2013 to 2020. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed, along with correlation analysis to evaluate linear relationships between variables. The fixed and random effect regressions were utilized to develop the research model. In the case of Palestinian manufacturing firms, the results revealed that Earnings Management (EM) had a significant negative impact on debt level. According to the moderating role of Corporate Governance (CG), larger boards and the existence of female members on the board of directors causes an increase in the high-leverage impact of EM, whereas CEO duality mitigates the high-leverage impact. However, in the case of Jordanian manufacturing firms, EM showed an insignificant impact on debt level. Regarding the moderating role of CG, it was proved that the presence of female members on the board of directors increased the firm's reliance on debt financing as a result of EM practices, while institutional investors mitigate the effect of EM on debt financing, leading to a decrease in reliance on debt. The findings of this research are suitable for the regulators while formulating policies on the Corporate Governance and the Impact of Earnings Management on Capital Structure. These findings have guided the policymakers that they should enhance their focus on Palestine and Jordan companies to test Corporate Governance Moderates the Impact of Earnings Management on Capital Structure. This study is also helpful for the new researcher while investigating this area in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jordan Valley's territorial extent is defined for this study as an elongated stretch of border area, located west of Jordan's boundary with the West Bank, Palestine. This region along with the West Bank was conquered by the Israeli Army during the June 1967 War and has been held by Israel since. Almost 88% of its 200,000 Palestinian population then living in the region were expelled and turned overnight into refugees in Jordan and elsewhere. In the subsequent 56 years since, the region, declared by Israel as a highly militarized zone, has often been discursively publicized as the front line of Israel's eastern defense. This paper seeks to refute such a notion that indirectly gave Israel justification to subject the remaining Palestinian inhabitants residing there (currently numbering ca. 60,000) to a harsh discriminatory regimen of surveillance and control under military occupation. At the same time, the Israeli government has over decades privileged the ca. 10,000 incoming Jewish settlers, now living in some 30 Israeli Jewish settlements in the Jordan Valley. Employing a grounded theory approach in our study provided an opportunity for the local Palestinians to have their voices heard, shedding needed analytical light on their difficult situation on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The refugee crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic continue to negatively impact access to education, and especially disproportionately affect underserved communities. Apart from access, such communities experience additional barriers including inadequate classroom infrastructure and suitable localization of such infrastructure. This paper aims to provide an analytical framework to identify the most suitable locations for mobile classrooms for underserved communities, thereby mitigating the lack of access to equitable education for underserved communities. To construct the analytical framework, we conduct a critical literature review to conceptualize the educational needs of underserved communities. Next, we proposed parameters that may be applicable for determining locationally metrics that match the educational needs of underserved communities. On this basis, we explore tools and methods applicable for suitability analysis and developed a geo-information framework that integrates an analytical hierarchy process tool to prioritize parameters decision-makers can apply to identify optimal areas to locate classroom infrastructure. This framework was applied to a use case of determining suitable location areas for an innovative mobile classroom (EDUBox) in Jordan. Using the framework, we demonstrate its applicability by identifying appropriate locations adapted to the tertiary and vocational education needs of underserved persons including refugee communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic health records provide a vast amount of text health data written by physicians as patient clinical notes. The world health organization released the international classification of diseases version 10 (ICD-10) system to monitor and analyze clinical notes. ICD-10 is system physicians and other healthcare providers use to classify and code all diagnoses and symptom records in conjunction with hospital care. Therefore, the data can be easily stored, retrieved, and analyzed for decision-making. In order to address the problem, this paper introduces a system to classify the clinical notes to ICD-10 codes. This paper examines 7541 clinical notes collected from a health institute in Jordan and annotated by ICD-10's coders. In addition, the research uses another outsource dataset to augment the actual dataset. The research presented many approaches, such as the baseline and pipeline models. The Baseline model employed several methods like Word2vec embedding for representing the text. The model structure also involves long-short-term memory a convolutional neural network, and two fully-connected layers. The second Pipeline approach adopts the transformer model, such as Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), which is pre-trained on a similar health domain. The Pipeline model builds on two BERT models. The first model classifies the category codes representing the first three characters of ICD-10. The second BERT model uses the outputs from the general BERT model (first model) as input for the special BERT (second model) to classify the clinical notes into total codes of ICD-10. Moreover, Baseline and Pipeline models applied the Focal loss function to eliminate the imbalanced classes. However, The Pipeline model demonstrates a significant performance by evaluating it over the F1 score, recall, precision, and accuracy metric, which are 92.5%, 84.9%, 91.8%, and 84.97%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of needy-students who cannot afford their university fees has become a phenomenon in countries like Jordan. Thus, supporting such students by establishing a reliable cloud-based platform for collecting donations from wealthy people is a very noble action. Such donations will enable needy-students to continue their education to up their development, reduce their poverty, improve their health, scale-up their gender equality, promote peace across their communities, enhance stability in their societies, and enrich the field of cloud-based services development. This paper proposes a new cloud-based platform that aims at connecting donors with needy-students in a very discrete way that preserves and honors the privacy and confidentiality of their information. We claim that our proposed cloud-based platform depicts a unique novelty that can be easily anticipated from the perspectives of its status as a cloud-based donations and financial support services platform; its ability to interconnect its users privately and confidentially; and its ability to easily verify the credentials of its users and confirm their eligibility to receive financial support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in refugee numbers is an increasingly important concern globally. Many countries in different regions have been accommodating refugees by providing temporary shelters made from ineffective and inadequate materials to provide thermal comfort for refugees. However, the shelters provided are often inadequate solutions for shelter and neglect the social and cultural diversity of the refugees. Socio-cultural norms, practices and values are rarely considered in the design of shelters and this has an adverse impact on how refugees live in these spaces. Using insights from the Al Baqa'a refugee camp in Jordan as a case study, this paper uses a mixed-method approach to explore how the challenges of inadequate shelter has consequently led refugees to self-organize and create new socio-cultural spaces to adapt to the place. The findings suggest that historically, Al Baqa'a camp has reorganized by users due to social needs and climate challenges. When the camp was created in 1967, the inadequacy of the housing and infrastructure to provide comfort influenced refugees to self-organize and create adaptive spaces of comfort. However, over the decades, these spaces have evolved into spaces of enterprise, belonging and memory of their homeland. Therefore, this paper argues that refugee shelter design should have an integrated consideration of the climatic elements and the social and cultural aspects of refugees. The paper concludes with lessons learned drawn from the evidence to act as guideline for the consideration of official humanitarian organizations in other camps and local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let Φ n (k) (x) be the kth derivative of the nth cyclotomic polynomial. We are interested in the values Φ n (k) (1) for fixed positive integers n. D. H. Lehmer proved that Φ n (k) (1) / Φ n (1) is a polynomial of the Euler totient function ϕ (n) and the Jordan totient functions and gave its explicit formula. In this paper, we give a quick proof that Φ n (k) (1) / Φ n (1) is a polynomial of them without giving the explicit form. In the final section, we deduce some curious congruences: 2 Φ n (3) (1) is divisible by ϕ (n) - 2 . Moreover, if k is greater than 1, then Φ n (2 k + 1) (1) is divisible by ϕ (n) - 2 k . The proof depends on a new combinatorial identity for general self-reciprocal polynomials over Z , which gives rise to a formula that expresses the value Φ n (k) (1) as a Z -linear combination of the coefficients in the minimal polynomial of 2 cos (2 π / n) - 2 . As a supplement, we show the monotonic increasing property of Φ n (x) on [ 1 , ∞) in two ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The applicability of the four-parameter (4P) kappa distribution to fit the annual maximum (AM) and the peak over threshold (POT) extreme precipitation series in the Amman Zarqa Basin (AZB), Jordan, is assessed. This paper presents a practical, easy-to-implement, yet accurate method in light of the method of L-moments for parameter estimation of 4P kappa. Based on the results from the data analysis of daily precipitation records during a period that exceeded 50 years at 23 weather stations, the 4P kappa distribution can fit the precipitation extremes for both the AM and POT series for each weather station well. The 4P kappa distribution can be employed in place of its three-parameter distributions typically selected for simulating precipitation extremes (i.e., generalized extreme value (GEV), generalized logistic (GLO) distribution for AM series, and generalized Pareto (GP) distribution for POT series). The bootstrap resampling for performance evaluation beyond the dataset length shows that the 4P kappa distribution outperforms its three special cases (GLO, GEV, and GP distributions) in the context of modeling the AM and POT series for all sampling sizes. Additionally, in representing the distribution's upper right tail quantile estimations, the 4P kappa distribution performed better and, in some circumstances, was comparable to its three special cases (GLO, GEV, and GP distributions). The outcomes of this study and the method employed should lay the groundwork for wider implementation of the 4P kappa distribution in hydrological and climate science applications, as well as in other disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, the notion of (additive) local multiplier on the ring of matrices over an arbitrary unital associative ring is introduced and investigated. It is proved that every local left multiplier on the matrix ring over a division ring is a left multiplier. Also, in the present paper, the notion of (additive) local Jordan multiplier on a Jordan ring of symmetric matrices is introduced and investigated. It is proved that every local Jordan multiplier on the Jordan ring of symmetric matrices over the field of rational numbers is a Jordan multiplier. Also corollaries of these results are proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity in Jordan is becoming more severe with time, which resulted in an indispensable need for economic innovative approaches to maximize the utilization of nonconventional water resources through reuse options. Within the framework of the current study, a novel vertical flow constructed wetland system was implemented for greywater treatment in four different rural areas in Jordan. In this paper, the primary objective was to develop a regression-based nonlinear model to predict BOD effluent concentration from the proposed system. The model obeyed the first-order kinetics and found to provide an efficient tool in predicting the effluent BOD value as exemplified by an R2 of 0.78. Moreover, a cost analysis was carried out to verify the feasibility of the proposed system. The economic results revealed a NPV range of 295–1209 JOD (420–1730$), IRR range of 6–10.7%, and a payback period range of 8.8–15.5 years. The average calculated costs of greywater treatment using the VFCWs were found to be 0.391 (USD/m3 treated) and 0.672 (USD/kg BOD removed). Finally, the energy saving from using the proposed system was quantified and an estimate of 70 JOD (100$)/year household was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LiDAR is considered as an effective technology for digitizing the real scene at a very high-resolution and in a short time. However, the resolution of the LiDAR is not sufficient to identify and evaluate the façade surface features like edges and cracks. Generally, photographs provide a better interpretation of the linear characteristics. The complementary benefits of each allow exploring valuable spatial information with different surface detail levels. The paper introduces a flexible image-based approach for linear feature extraction from LiDAR point cloud. Initially, the algorithm converts the point clouds into a structured depth image to reduce the complexity and computation time. Using transformation matrix and camera calibration parameters, the visible point clouds are perceptively projected into color image space using co-linearity equations. The result depth channel is sampled with the interpolation process and added to the color channels to compute (RGBD) layers. The edges and linear features of the surface are initially extracted using the optical 2D imagery and subsequently, each pixel of the linear features can be projected directly into 3D space. Due to the various acquisition positions of the laser and color images, the issue of occlusion is resolved using the visibility algorithm. Applying the methodology, experimental results from the Treasury Monument of Jordan's ancient Petra City, indicate that the developed approach provides adequate contour points for better interpretation and quantification of weathering processes and dangerous cracking. 3D Modeling these features can also reduce data size, facilitating surface inspection and analysis with simpler models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ring R is called reversible if for a , b ∈ R , a b = 0 implies b a = 0 . These rings play an important role in the study of noncommutative ring theory. Kafkas et al. (Algebra Discrete Math. 12 (2011) 72–84) generalized the notion of reversible rings to central reversible rings. In this paper, we extend the notion of central reversibility of rings to ring endomorphisms. We investigate various properties of these rings and answer relevant questions that arise naturally in the process of development of these rings, and as a consequence many new results related to central reversible rings are also obtained as corollaries to our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study intends to examine the impact of internal control of non-financial reporting-related weakness on the audit fees of corporations. To pursue the research objectives, two research questions are formalized: (i) How does internal control over non-financial reporting-related weakness (ICWN-FR) affect audit fees (ADF)?; (ii) What is the effect of external audit size on the link between ICWN-FR and ADF ?. Multiple regression models with 82 listed Jordanian companies from 2014 to 2020 used as the study sample reveal the following findings. Our findings underscore the importance of considering the characteristics of the audit firm when analyzing the relationship between ICWN-FR and audit fees. Companies audited by Big 4 firms may face greater scrutiny and potentially higher fees for ICWN-FR compared to those audited by non-Big 4 firms. While prior studies have explored various factors influencing audit fees and the impact of internal controls on audit costs, this research uniquely delves into the differential effects observed when companies are audited by different categories of audit firms. The study accentuates the significance of impeccable internal controls within non-financial reporting procedures and their far-reaching consequences on audit fees, thereby highlighting the imperative for corporations to give precedence to augmenting their internal control mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method for solving diagnosis and estimation problems based on the Jordan canonical form. The problems of constructing diagnostic observers, virtual sensors, and interval and sliding-mode observers are considered. Algorithms for solving these problems are designed for both linear and nonlinear systems in the presence of exogenous disturbances and measurement noise. It is shown that in some cases, the use of the Jordan canonical form reduces the complexity of the observers and sensors and simplifies the procedure for their synthesis compared with the identification canonical form. This is illustrated by a practical example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme event magnitude and frequency are prerequisites for accurately designing and managing various water infrastructure systems. This paper studies precipitation extremes in the Amman Zara Basin (AZB) using daily precipitation records from 24 weather stations during a period that exceeds 50 years. Two extreme precipitation series (the annual maximum (AM) and the peak over threshold (POT)), four generalized probability distributions (generalized extreme value (GEV), generalized Pareto (GP), generalized lognormal (GLN), and generalized logistic (GLO)) and the L moment method for distribution parameter estimation are used. A mix of increasing and decreasing trends is observed at different stations for both the AM and POT series over the study period. Since the POT series considers up to the fifth largest precipitation in some years, in contrast to the AM series, and skips the largest precipitation in the AM series in other years, the trend analysis results for the POT series differ slightly from those for the AM series. According to the goodness-of-fit (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and L moment diagram), the probability distributions GEV, GLN, and GLO can better fit the AM series, with no unique distribution among them consistently ranking the best for all stations, while the POT series is better fitted by the GP distribution. The calculated extreme precipitation amounts of the AM series are up to 18% greater than those of the POT series for the same return period. Additionally, the AM series can describe extreme precipitation events better than the POT series based on relative error calculations. The 50- and 100-year extreme precipitation events occurred more frequently in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let Mn(C) denote the algebra of all n × n complex matrices, and fix a nonzero vector x0 in Cn. For any matrix T ∈Mn(C), let σT (x0) denote the local spectrum of T at x0. Given three scalars μ, ν and ξ simultaneously nonzero, we study maps ϕ on Mn(C) satisfying σμSTS+νTS+ξST (x0) = σμϕ(S)ϕ(T)ϕ(S)+νϕ(T)ϕ(S)+ξϕ(S)ϕ(T)(x0) for all S, T ∈Mn(C). Our main result extends and unifies the main results of several papers on maps on Mn(C) preserving the local spectrum of different products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Academic integrity is the expectation that members of the academic community, including researchers, teachers, and students, to act with accuracy, honesty, fairness, responsibility, and respect. Academic integrity is an issue of critical importance to academic institutions and has been gaining increasing interest among scholars in the last few years. While contravening academic integrity is known as academic misconduct, cheating is one type of academic misconduct and is generally defined as "any action that dishonestly or unfairly violates rules of research or education. Case study: The case study presented in this paper describes the elements of academic misconduct in three Middle Eastern countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan). Four categories of factors were analyzed, namely personal, cultural traits, contextual, and institutional. Moreover, a comparison of factors of misconduct is conducted in the three countries in order to examine how different learning environments and cultures can affect academic cheating. The study also investigates the role of teachers and administration system in enforcing integrity policy in educational institutes. Discussion and evaluation: An evaluation of the main causes of cheating and plagiarism among students in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan is conducted by analyzing students' response to a 20 questions survey. The nonparametric Dunn's statistical analysis is performed to compare the variance and frequency of factors that may affect academic integrity. The significant results are reported in terms of the Krushal F statistic and p-value < 0.05. The evaluation was a useful process that demonstrated the main factors affecting academic integrity in the three countries. Conclusion: Survey results show that the role of individual social-demographic and culture factors are significant for predicting misconduct in Saudi Arabia and Egypt but not in Jordan. Most students blamed their misconduct on laziness and willingness to achieve higher education performance. Students are more likely to cheat and plagiarize because they lack the ability or information to tackle assignments. Results illustrate that the cultural impact can be a significant factor in academic misconduct. Integrity policies and the level, at which they have been applied, have a large impact on student attitudes towards cheating and their academic misconduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research intends to demonstrate the potential integration of large language models (LLMs) in accounting practices in Jordan. It is a mixed methods study that employs semi-structured interviews and content analysis of published financial reports. A total of 13 semi-structured interviews are conducted with various accounting professionals, such as accountant, financial analyst, financial controller, auditor, tax consultant, and finance manager. In addition, the study includes a thorough content analysis of financial reports, which reveals a compelling pattern highlighting the distinct narrative content richness prevalent across financial, industrial, and service sectors. The results emphasize the need for sector-specific adaptation, suggesting a paradigm shift in financial reporting practices. This study represents the initial empirical exploration in Jordan. It serves as a bridge between theory and application, offering both theoretical insights and practical guidance for accounting professionals. Ultimately, the study envisions a future where LLMs significantly enrich financial reporting practices across diverse sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediatric cardiomyopathies are mostly attributed to variants in sarcomere-related genes. Unfortunately, the genetic architecture of pediatric cardiomyopathies has never been previously studied in Jordan. We sought to uncover the genetic landscape of 14 patients from nine families with several subtypes of pediatric cardiomyopathies in Jordan using Exome sequencing (ES). Our investigation identified pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants in seven out of nine families (77.8%), clustering in sarcomere-related genes. Surprisingly, phenocopies of sarcomere-related hypertrophic cardiomyopathies were evident in probands with glycogen storage disorder and mitochondrial-related disease. Our study underscored the significance of streamlining ES or expanding cardiomyopathy-related gene panels to identify plausible phenocopies of sarcomere-related cardiomyopathies. Our findings also pointed out the need for genetic testing in patients with cardiomyopathy and their at-risk family members. This can potentially lead to better management strategies, enabling early interventions, and ultimately enhancing their prognosis. Finally, our findings provide an initial contribution to the currently absent knowledge about the molecular underpinnings of cardiomyopathies in Jordan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses and compares around 650 years of mosaic mortar production spanning the Roman, late Roman and Umayyad periods, at Gerasa/Jerash in Jordan, offering a better understanding of composition, structural features, and manufacturing processes. It assesses the value of optical and electron microscopy examination of morphological and textural features, pore structure using MIP, and composition studies using EDX, XRD, FTIR, TGA, and Raman spectroscopy. The study indicated high density lime adhesive was used compared to other mortars. Wood was used as a fuel when producing the lime and natural fibres were incorporated when manufacturing mortars. Aggregates were primarily calcitic with a small proportion of silica-based aggregates. Key outcomes of the study conclude that early Roman mortars were of highest quality, which was demonstrated through the careful selection of materials including different stone for lime and tesserae, and differences between layers. Late Roman mortars used the same slaked lime plus fibres and charcoal. Mortars dating from the Umayyad period also had the same higher lime content than late Roman, but higher porosity with fibres and charcoal. In general, the mortars showed slight differences in content and aggregate; different stone for lime and tesserae. The research attests to underlying traditions as well as changes in mortar mixes and methods according to context and time. The resulting data is contextualized within local and regional approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this groundbreaking study, we explore the behavioral determinants critical to the acceptance and effective utilization of Jordan's digital tax platform among taxpayers. Utilizing an unprecedented combination of frameworks from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Social Capital Theory (SCT), and Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), this study pioneers a unique integrated approach. Data gathered through questionnaires across Jordan's multiple governorates lay the groundwork for this analysis. Employing the sophisticated Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) within SPSS, our results uncover the profound impact of both social factors (trust, subjective norms) and technological attributes (perceived ease, utility), as conceptualized in TAM, SCT, and TRA. This research is distinct in its focus on Jordan, providing new insights into the nexus of tax compliance and technology adoption, a relatively uncharted area in existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a feasibility study of utilizing an on-grid photovoltaic (PV) system for electrification of Cedars hotel located in Amman in Jordan as a case study. The PV system has been designed, keeping in view the required electrical load and energy available from the sun in Jordan. The actual energy consumption of the hotel is estimated (444 MWh/year) for the design and simulation of the on-grid PV system using Photovoltaic Geographical Information System software (PVGIS) and photovoltaic software (PVsyst). The results showed that PV system required 912 panels distributed over 12 inverters, with a required area of 1757.3 m2. In addition, the on-grid PV system produced a total yearly energy of 541 MWh, with an average performance ratio of 0.828. The economic study for the proposed PV system showed that the system's payback period was 4.1 year. Moreover, life cycle savings (LCS) and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) analysis have been carried out. The LCS and LCOE of the system were found to be $51,493 and $0.0199 /kWh, respectively. Therefore, installing a proposed on-grid PV system on the Cedars hotel will save $38,718/year. It is concluded that an on-grid PV system is a technically and economically viable technology for the electrification of residential hotel applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If the cosquares of complex matrices and are similar and there is a unimodular number in the spectrum of the cosquares, then and are not necessarily congruent. Assume that such an eigenvalue is unique. In this case, so far, one could verify the congruence of and by using a rational algorithm only in two situations: (1) the eigenvalue is simple or semi-simple; (2)there is only one Jordan block associated with in the Jordan form of the cosquares. We propose a rational algorithm for checking congruence in the case where two Jordan blocks of the same order are associated with . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having established itself as a heritage discourse, planetary gentrification is being studied in terms of how it operates in the Global South. This study focuses on the case of Abdali Amman, a significant mixed-use neighbourhood in Jordan that has experienced numerous mega-gentrification initiatives. According to Bourdieu's theories of the state and dispositional practices, this study critically evaluates urban gentrification practices. In terms of gentrification governance, which takes place in two adjacent 'state' and 'civic' zones inside the Abdali district, this study analyses the interactions between transnational and state actors and the intragovernmental (state-municipality) governance system. Gentrification in Amman is connected to the revitalisation of historic sites, is a matter of urban governance, and operates from the transnational sphere along national and local lines. Furthermore, gentrification is caught in a desire/resistance paradox with calls for legitimacy and recognition. As a country in the Global South, Jordan has welcomed capitalist urbanisation. Gentrification is articulated within a flux between deterritorialisation/reterritorialisation, producing a form of 'heritage gentrification' in which history and national heritage are sacrificed through a process of satellite gentrification that is rooted in generative cultural transformation and governed by decentralised power structures. Introducing a Western blueprint of planetary gentrification through narrow gates into non-Western environments is a prevailing challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban expansion within Greater Irbid Municipality (GIM) witnessed an extraordinary rise, expanding approximately ninefold between 1967 and 2020. Recent trends revealed a shift in urban growth towards southern and eastern regions. These dynamics carry critical implications for urban planners and environmental managers, urging a comprehensive understanding of the driving factors behind this expansion to anticipate future challenges. Employing logistic regression (LR) and geographically weighted logistic regression (GWLR) analyses using remote sensing data and GIS, spatially variant coefficients for driving factors emerged, illuminating the evolving landscape of urban development drivers within GIM. Yarmouk University historically promoted urban expansion, but recent proximity to Yarmouk University and JUST University, coupled with higher existing building percentages, inhibited further urbanization. The analysis also revealed that elevation and slope had negligible impacts on urban expansion. These findings underline the evolving dynamics of urban development drivers within the study region. The local perspective depicted significant spatial disparities in coefficients, highlighting variations in magnitude and direction. GWLR emerged as a more robust methodology, effectively capturing regional variations and enhancing model reliability. These findings hold immense value for informing current and future urban planning practices in Greater Irbid Municipality. Proactively addressing identified challenges and understanding the intricate dynamics of urban expansion can assist Irbid in shaping a sustainable and resilient future, avoiding potential pitfalls in its urban development endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to identify the factors that influence senior management for adopting blockchain technology in the banking industry in general and Islamic banking in particular. Furthermore, the research addressed the moderating role of technological turbulence as it holds a significant hindering role. This study employed the analytical approach, and the data were collected through questionnaires distributed to several senior management employees in both the Jordan Islamic Bank and the Islamic Arab Bank. The research instrument was developed and confirmed by the experts in the field. For identifying the significance of the variables incorporated in the researchers applied structural equation modeling technique. The findings revealed that economic efficiency, bank security, customer expectations, education, training and preparation all are significant predictors of readiness for implementing blockchain technology in the Islamic banks in Jordan. The study concluded that blockchain technology should be adopted by all Islamic banks because of its advantages and also the management needs to be educated regarding the same; they should be provided appropriate training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iris recognition technology (IRT)-based authentication is a biometric financial technology (FinTech) application used to automate user recognition and verification. In addition to being a controversial technology with various facilitators and inhibitors, the adoption of IRT-based FinTech is driven by contextual factors, such as customer perceptions, deployed biometric technology, and financial transaction settings. Due to its controversial and contextual properties, analyzing IRT-based FinTech acceptance is challenging. This study uses a net valence framework to investigate the salient positive and negative factors influencing the intention to use IRT-based FinTech in automated teller machines (ATMs) in Jordan. This study is pertinent because there is a dearth of research on IRT-based FinTech in the relevant literature; most previous research has taken purely engineering and technical approaches. Furthermore, despite considerable investments by banks and other financial institutions in this FinTech, target user adoption is minimal, and only 6% of Jordan's ATM transactions are currently IRT-enabled. This study employs mixed methods. In the first qualitative study, 17 Jordanian customers were interviewed regarding the benefits and risks of IRT-based FinTech in ATMs. Content analyses determined the most important concepts or themes. The advantages include financial security, convenience, and FinTech-enabled hygiene, whereas the concerns include performance, financial, privacy, and physical risks. The research model is constructed based on the qualitative study and theoretical underpinnings, wherein 631 Jordanian bank customers with active ATM accounts were surveyed to validate the research model. The findings indicate that IRT-based FinTech usage in ATMs is proportional to its perceived value. In descending order of effect, financial security, FinTech-enabled hygiene, and convenience benefits positively impact perceived value. Privacy, financial, and physical risks have negative impacts on perceived value, whereas performance risk has no effect. This study contributes to the relatively untapped domain of biometric technology in information systems, with important theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we show that one-sided extendability of functions in certain L ∞ spaces of a rectifiable Jordan arc is a rare phenomenon. We also discuss possible generalizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the noncommutative functional equation h (λ z) - λ h (z) = g (z) , z ∈ C and we give a new perspective from this equation to obtain a completely dynamical classification for complex matrices. Coarsely speaking, there are four different types: 0 , 1 2 , 2 and e i 2 π θ with θ ∈ [ 0 , 1 2 ] for diagonal matrices and Jordan matrices, respectively. Moreover, we obtain that for a complex matrix A, if its eigenvalues are 0 < | λ i | ≠ 1 , where 1 ≤ i ≤ rank (A) , then A is topologically conjugate to a diagonal matrix on C rank (A) . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of people have been forcibly displaced around the world at an alarming rate. In 2018, approximately 70.8 million people (UNHCR 2018) were living in refugee camps. These camps are the most immediate response to the emergency. However, they have become more than a simple temporary solution, with refugees spending significantly longer than they should. Motivated largely by an economic rationale, the camps are often produced rapidly, cheaply and effectively to accommodate the largest possible number of shelters in the shortest time. The aim of this paper is to explore whether the concept of permanence should be embedded in the spatial configuration of a refugees' camp, or whether the concept of transient and temporary community would better reflect the aspirations of the users. The Al Za'atari camp has been selected as a case study to explore the nexus between spatial configuration and social aspirations of the refugees' community. Indeed, the findings revealed that the spatial configuration of the Al Za'atari camp reflects social fabric, habits and organization of the refugees' community. This has occurred to the point that the camp has taken on the appearance of a sort of informal city. This study therefore suggests recommendations to support the design of spatial and architectural solutions that better meet the actual needs of the final users largely disregarded in the current emergency approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let H and K be complex Hilbert spaces.Denote by B(H) and B(K) the algebras of all bounded linear operators on H and K, respectively. In this paper, we characterize that nonlinear map φ : B(H) → B(K) that preserves the higher-dimensional numerical ranges of Jordan *-products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence models, like ChatGPT, have the potential to revolutionize higher education when implemented properly. This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing university students' attitudes and usage of ChatGPT in Arab countries. The survey instrument "TAME-ChatGPT" was administered to 2240 participants from Iraq, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. Of those, 46.8% heard of ChatGPT, and 52.6% used it before the study. The results indicated that a positive attitude and usage of ChatGPT were determined by factors like ease of use, positive attitude towards technology, social influence, perceived usefulness, behavioral/cognitive influences, low perceived risks, and low anxiety. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the adequacy of the "TAME-ChatGPT" constructs. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the attitude towards ChatGPT usage was significantly influenced by country of residence, age, university type, and recent academic performance. This study validated "TAME-ChatGPT" as a useful tool for assessing ChatGPT adoption among university students. The successful integration of ChatGPT in higher education relies on the perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, positive attitude towards technology, social influence, behavioral/cognitive elements, low anxiety, and minimal perceived risks. Policies for ChatGPT adoption in higher education should be tailored to individual contexts, considering the variations in student attitudes observed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desertification assessment is vital to develop actions plans aimed to prevent desertification issues. Utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to manipulate and analyze data retrieved from various sources of data including satellite images and thematic maps, as well as the use of remote sensing through satellite images to retrieve environmental information on the earth's surface, are crucial tools to understand related environmental dangers, which is used to monitor desertification and investigate different desert conditions. In this study, different physical and environmental factors associated with land desertification including vegetation cover, water, drainage systems, geomorphology, and soil moisture, were extracted and evaluated using various remote sensing techniques. In addition, multi-temporal analysis of Landsat TM data is used in this study to examine the state of vegetation and growth of irrigated area between 1983 and 1997. A GIS tool is utilized to aggregate and analyze different factors including soil, land use, and climate. A decrease in vegetation cover was clearly observed based on these analysis results. A severe desertification of the natural vegetation cover is the primary cause of this predicament. Finally, many maps describing the actual situation of study area is obtained following the GIS layers examination, however, the most important maps are soil erosion, vegetation degradation, salinization and desertification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, humanitarian NGOs have instituted safety protocols intended to reduce the risk of spreading infection during services to refugees. But those protocols are not always followed, and how staff attribute refugee non-adherence reveals underlying power dynamics in humanitarian assistance which can shape how they approach improving adherence in order to enhance effective service provision to the refugees. Using the data from 1466 interviews conducted with 468 different NGO staff in Türkiye, Jordan, and Lebanon, this study exhibits how paternalistic rhetoric operated in humanitarianism during the initial stages of the pandemic. While staff attribute the non-adherence of refugees to essential refugee culture and sometimes "immoral" character, they attribute their own non-adherence to morally neutral situational factors. Some NGO staff even perceived the refugees as incapable of complying with the safety protocols without assistance. While the literature on paternalism focuses on North/South power dynamics between service providers and refugees, our data show that these dynamics also exist in South-South humanitarian interventions where both the service providers and the refugees are from the region and have similar cultural backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussions under this title were held during a round table in frames of the International Conference "Fractional Differentiation and Its Applications" (ICFDA'18) held in 16-18 July 2018, Amman, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, see details at http://conferences.ju.edu.jo/en/icfda2018/Home.aspx. The intention of this round table was to continue the useful traditions from the first conferences on the Fractional Calculus topics, to pose open problems, challenging hypotheses and questions "where to go", to discuss them and try to find ways to resolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we study cosmological solutions of the 8-dimensional Einstein Yang-Mills theory coupled to a perfect-fluid matter. A Yang-Mills instanton of extra dimensions causes a 4-dimensional expanding universe with dynamical compactification of the extra dimensions. To construct physically reliable situations, we impose the null energy condition on the matter. This energy condition is affected by the extra dimensions. Then, we consider cosmological constant to grasp the structure of the solution space. Even in this simple case, we find several interesting solutions, such as bouncing universes and oscillatory solutions, eventually arriving at a de Sitter universe with stabilized compact dimensions. In addition, we consider a class of matters whose energy density depends on the volume of the extra dimensions. This case shows another set of bouncing universes. Also, a real scalar with potential is taken into account. The scalar field model admits de Sitter solutions due to the choice of potential, and we demonstrate how potentials can be constructed using flow equations. Thus, what we discuss in this work is based on the 8-dimensional Einstein frame, which corresponds to the 4-dimensional Jordan frame by dimensional reduction. Consequently, the results are derived in the 4-dimensional Jordan frame, not in the 4-dimensional Einstein frame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stomach (gastric) cancer is one of the most prevalent and deadly cancers worldwide and most gastric cancers are adenocarcinomas. Based on prior research, there is an association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection together with the frequency of duodenal ulcer, distal gastric adenocarcinoma, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and antral gastritis. Helicobacter pylori virulence and toxicity factors have been identified before that significantly influence the clinical outcomes of H. pylori infection and gastric adenocarcinoma. However, it remains unclear exactly how different strains of H. pylori affect gastric adenocarcinoma. Current research suggests this involves tumor suppressor genes, like p27 but also H. pylori toxic virulence proteins. Therefore, we quantified known H. pylori genotypes within adenocarcinoma patients to establish the prevalence of known toxins that include cytotoxin-associated gene A (cagA) as well as vacuolating cytotoxin A (vacA) within patients of variable adenocarcinoma diagnosis. This analysis used gastrectomy samples validated for DNA viability. The incidence of H. pylori in adenocarcinoma patients in Jordan was established to be 54.5% positive (ureA gene positive) with cagA genotype occurrence at 57.1%, but also in this population study vacA gene ratios found to be 24.7%:22.1%:14.3%:14.3%. (vacAs1:vacAs2:vacAm1:vacAm2). Using immunohistochemistry (IHC), we confirmed with statistical significance that p27 was dysregulated and suppressed, within nearly all H. pylori vacA genotypes. In addition, within 24.6% of H. pylori samples analyzed was a different bacterial genotype, and curiously that p27 protein expression was retained in 12% of tested adenocarcinoma H. pylori samples. This is suggestive that p27 could be used as a prognostic indicator but also that an unknown genotype could be contributing to the regulatory effects of p27 protein within this bacterial and cellular environment that may include other virulence factors and unknown immune system regulatory changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jordan is a food-deficit country. Jordan's population reached approximately 10 million in 2019 and has an annual growth rate of 3.3%. This increase will exert heavy pressure on the kingdom's fragile natural resource base. The total imports of food commodities still exceed exports, so Jordan is a deficit country with respect to its food supply chain. Data from the Marfraq governorate were used to evaluate the effect of drought on food security in Jordan. This governorate was chosen because most of its land receives low levels of precipitation. The crops selected for analysis were rain-fed crops: olives, wheat, and barley. The precipitation data series were examined for normality distribution, and they were found to be normally distributed. Six drought severity classes were estimated by the Mafraq Governorate during 1995–2017. The highest drought occurrence was near normal drought (15 observation years), followed by moderate drought (3 years), extreme drought (2 years), and very wet and moderately wet (1 year each). The quantitative analysis for the effect of a drought occurrence on crop production was estimated using a regression equation with the assumption of increasing the average temperatures by 1 °C, 2 °C, and 3 °C. A conceptual model was designed to evaluate the impact of agricultural drought on some components of food security in Jordan. The standardized regression coefficients were estimated using the path analysis method. The total effect of drought on food availability was 0.68 standard deviations; the effect for food access was 7.01 standard deviations, and food utilization was 14.63 standard deviations. Climate change, especially drought occurrence, has a negative effect on food security. Crop yields are reduced with high temperatures. Additionally, weeds cover the land, and pest numbers increase, causing more damage. Crop production decreases substantially with low precipitation levels or long droughts. A drought's indirect effects are evident through changes in irrigation water availability. The main purpose of this research is to understand the impact of drought on food security in Jordan by evaluating the drought effect on agricultural production and sociodemographic-economic aspects.Please confirm if the author names are presented accurately and in the correct sequence (given name, middle name/initial, family name). Author 2 Given name: [Mohammad Samir] Last name [El-Habbab]. Also, kindly confirm the details in the metadata are correct.yes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater quality is an important factor that determines its usage for drinking and irrigational use. This study was carried out along the quaternary alluvial aquifer which extends along Wadi Araba groundwater basins, in southern Jordan. Chemical and physical parameters were measured and analyzed for thirty-seven groundwater samples collected from twenty-one wells in the study area during two periods in the year 2019; the spring season (April–May) was represented by fourteen samples and the autumn season (August–September) represented by twenty-three samples were collected to determine its suitability for drinking and irrigational purposes. The groundwater in the study area is generally of low alkalinity with an average pH value of less than 8 for both spring and autumn seasons. The water of the area is excessively mineralized due to salinity, and the increase in water salinity of the southern Wadi Araba basin is less expressed than in the northern part. The hydrochemical characterization shows that most wells of the study area are characterized by HCO3–Ca–Mg and HCO3–SO4–Ca–Mg types in the eastern escarpments of Wadi Araba (i.e., recharge area) and Cl–SO4–Na and Cl–Na types in the discharge area. There is no substantial change in the hydrochemical composition during the two seasons. Based on the Piper diagram, most of the groundwater samples (91.8%) belong to class "E" as "earth alkaline water with increased portions of alkalis with prevailing sulfate and chloride." The Durov diagram reveals that most groundwater samples (62.2%) lay in the water genesis "field 6" which indicates that the water may be related to the reverse ion exchange of Na–Cl. The chemical composition of the water samples was compared with the drinking water standards of the World Health Organization and the Jordanian Standard. Groundwater from this area was not suitable to be a source for direct drinking based on total hardness and total dissolved solids. The dominant cation is sodium, while the dominant anion is chloride. The calculations of saturation indices for the two sampling campaigns for different minerals showed negative values of (SI) for carbonates minerals (anhydrite, gypsum, sylvite, and halite). This suggests that the groundwater in the alluvial aquifer is undersaturated with respect to these minerals in most of the study area. This is indicative of the fact that these minerals are undergoing the process of dissolution. The mineral saturation indices suggest that the dominating hydrochemical processes were dissolutions of evaporite minerals (halite and gypsum), carbonate minerals (such as calcite, dolomite, and rhodochrosite), the manganese oxide minerals (such as jarosite-K, hausmannite, pyrochroite, and pyrolusite) and reverse ion exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mental health disorders among children are highly prevalent worldwide. In most countries, the primary care physician is point of first contact with the medical system for children with these problems. There are few data from developing countries about the ways in which these children present barriers that may hinder appropriate recognition, treatment, or referral. This study sought to explore the range and expression of childhood behavioral disorders encountered by primary care pediatricians in Jordan, as well as barriers to the identification and management of these conditions. Results: We used qualitative methodology to conduct 8 focus-group interviews with physicians in Jordan. A total of 36 physicians participated. Themes that emerged from the interviews were organized into four categories. The first category described specific behavioral disorders encountered by physicians, autism being the most common and problematic. Second were themes related to system issues impacting the approach to behavioral problems. These included deficiencies in physician training and a lack of mental health services. Third were family-related issues such as parenting practices and family structure that were perceived to contribute to behavioral morbidity. Finally, sociocultural attitudes that included resistance to medicalization, reluctance to discuss behavioral issues, and interpretation of certain childhood behaviors affected help-seeking behavior and acceptance of diagnosis and treatment. Conclusions: Sociocultural and structural issues strongly influence the presentation and management of behavioral and mental health conditions among pediatric patients in Jordan. These findings have significant implications for the development of approaches to the detection and management of these problems in developing countries. The creation of robust pathways for early detection and intervention among children at risk for mental health can help reduce the burden of mental health morbidity in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to assess the spatial distribution of the services of the Civil Defence Centres in Karak. The study explores the planning needs of those centres. The study makes suggestions for improving the performance efficiency of those centres. Such suggestions include establishing new facilities. The study uses location allocation models in the network analyst tool in the ArcGIS software as a proposed strategy to improve the spatial planning of urban services in Karak province. The management of the centres in these models can identify the areas which show the greatest demand for services. The study conducts spatial analysis to identify the number of inhabited blocks that are under the service coverage of each centre. The distance between each centre and the inhabited block that is under service coverage should not exceed 7 min of driving. The study finds that there are 88 inhabited blocks in Karak that are under the service coverage of a Civil Defence Centre. There are 23 inhabited blocks in Karak that are not under the service coverage of a Civil Defence Centre. The study recommends creating ten new Civil Defence Centres in order to ensure that 109 out of the 111 inhabited blocks in Karak are under the service coverage of a centre. In other words, these blocks would be provided with services within a duration that does not exceed 7 min of driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the annual precipitation time series in the Yarmouk River Basin, Jordan, and to characterize dry–wet periods using the standardized precipitation index (SPI). Annual precipitation data of 11 stations in the Yarmouk River Basin were analyzed to explore the stationarity, homogeneity, persistence, and trends over the 36-year study period. It was concluded that the annual precipitation data in the Yarmouk River Basin are purely random and homogenous with no autocorrelation or significant trends. Several statistical distributions were investigated for their fit to the annual precipitation data, and it was found that the loglogistic was the most suitable distribution for all stations. The 12-month SPI was computed via three different approaches: the gamma approximation, the Box-Cox transformation, and the selected distribution (loglogistic) method. These three methods did not yield significantly different SPI values for most stations; however, clear differences can be observed in extremely wet or dry conditions. Therefore, the SPI-gamma approach is recommended for characterizing wet conditions, while the Box-Cox and the loglogistic approaches are recommended for drought assessment. It was also found that major drought events (moderate, severe, and extreme) over the study period range from 3 to 8 per station with an average of 5.48 per station and an average relative frequency of 0.152. The driest year for most stations was observed in 1998–1999 while 1991–1992 was the wettest year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the pioneer work of H.L. Resnikoff, which is described in full detail in the first part of this two-part paper, we give a quantum description of the space P of perceived colors. We show that P is the effect space of a rebit, a real quantum qubit, whose state space is isometric to Klein's hyperbolic disk. This chromatic state space of perceived colors can be represented as a Bloch disk of real dimension 2 that coincides with Hering's disk given by the color opponency mechanism. Attributes of perceived colors, hue and saturation, are defined in terms of Von Neumann entropy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Efficient production and reliable availability of electricity requires comprehensive understanding of load demand trends to plan and match production with consumption. Although electricity demand depends on a combination of cultural and economic conditions, weather conditions remain as the major driver. With increased capabilities of accurate predictions of weather, the importance of investigating and quantifying its impact on electricity demand becomes obvious. The electrical system in Jordan has been facing several challenges including the failure to respond to increased demands induced by extreme temperatures. This paper covers a clear gap in literature through presenting a detailed investigation of the electricity consumption trends and in identifying the susceptibility of these trends to weather. Methods: This study relies on the statistical processing and analysis, through modeling of hourly electricity demands in Jordan in the period of 10 years between 2007 and 2016. Actual weather data was used employing the degree-day approach. The monthly, daily, and hourly seasonal variation indices were determined. Optimally formulated piecewise functions were used to track the thermal comfort zone and rate of increase in electricity demand for temperatures beyond it for each year. Moreover, the elasticity of polynomial functions was adopted to identify saturation points to thermally map the electricity consumption. Results: The developed models successfully described the relationship between the daily electricity demand and the mean daily ambient temperature. The average comfort zone width was 4 °C and the average mean base temperature was 17.9 °C. The sensitivity of electricity demand to both high and low temperatures has increased on average, with 11% and 16.4% to hot and cold weather, respectively. Finally, the electricity demand in cooling was found to saturate at 32.9 °C, whereas it saturates for heating at 4.7 °C. Conclusions: The electricity demand in Jordan observes seasonal trends in a consistent and predictable manner. An optimally formulated piecewise function successfully tracked the thermal comfort zone and the rate of increase in electricity demand for temperatures beyond it for each year of the study period. Finally, saturation heating and cooling temperatures were acquired from the elasticity of the daily electricity demands modeled against daily HDD and CDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International research is moving towards the development of BIM (Building Information Modelling) libraries applied to the built heritage where one of the main issues to be addressed is the modelling of complex or unique shapes that represent the specific construction components of every single asset. This perspective addresses the generation of parametric families of representative architectural geometry in the context of the management and representation of a building of heritage value. Jordan's architectural heritage has gone through a long period of evolution and development: the result is a mixture of influences and traditions, making a great stride to conserve its buildings and Historical Heritage but has never adopted advanced digital technologies such as Building Information Modelling. In this framework, the present research aims to bridge the gap in Jordan by applying digital technologies to support heritage conservation plans by creating a 3D library of BIM objects related to typical elements of Jordanian and Arabic architecture, specifically in two cases of study. Co-production and collaboration with diverse stakeholders were central to the development of the methodology and design of the research.As a result, the first open-access HBIM shared library of historical features of Jordanian built heritage will be consolidated; this is crucial because it will set a precedent for the further documentation and conservation of the heritage of traditional cities in Jordan, MENA countries and internationally by promoting social cohesion, economic and technological development, tourism and the awareness of Jordan's cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the actual use of services and accessibility of employment places by rural residents while interacting with their surrounding towns, urban center, and the county rural center. This study reveals the factors contributing to rural–urban dependence in a developing country in terms of services and job utilization. Its pursuit is developing policies for regional sustainability. Therefore, a rural survey was carried out to identify the actual dependence. The study found that rural residents were integrated significantly with the urban center regarding shopping, education, and medical services rather than jobs, with minor interdependencies among rural towns. The continued and mass dependence on the urban center was depleting rural resources creating a rural–urban gap in economic development. The study recommended a development strategy that emphasizes the importance of preserving rural living and jobs. It emphasized the importance of the urban center in providing jobs for the rural people rather than long journeys to obtain services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread availability of high-resolution digital elevation data and high computational capabilities, along with GIS tools, has revolutionized big data processing, management, and interpolation. The present investigation generates high spatial resolution maps of thermal comfort levels, heating (HDD), and cooling (CDD) degree days across the populated areas in Jordan. Results show that areas having indoor apparent temperature (IAT) of 26 °C or above, which represents warm/hot conditions on this thermal index, cover a large portion of the study area during July and August. This thermal zone encompasses a large cluster of the major urban centers in the country. For instance, Amman, Zarqa, and Irbid, which host more than 80% of the population of the country, experience 13, 14, and 19 h of warm to very warm conditions during July and August, demonstrating that cooling needs are required to bring about thermal comfort for dwellings and office buildings. Heavy cooling loads, 1700–2000 CDDs, are restricted to the Jordan Rift Valley (JRV) and other small, low-level urban centers. With the exception of the JRV, the populated areas in the country experience cold to very cold conditions during the three coldest months, December through February. Very cold conditions in winter, IAT ≤ 8 °C, span more than 13–14 h of the diurnal cycle in most urban centers. The HDD range from values close to zero along the JRV to ⁓ 1900 in the southern mountains. Heating loads for dwellings and office buildings are very demanding and represent a pressing financial challenge to bring about thermal comfort to homes and public buildings during winter. The present procedure can be integrated with auxiliary data within a GIS environment to investigate numerous climatological, environmental, and site suitability issues. The present procedure can be used for operational purposes over territorial or regional scales for a wide range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]