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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]

This paper contributes to the debates on the effectiveness and legitimacy of global labour standards. Theoretically, the paper integrates literature on labour standards in global production networks with cognitive framing and sensemaking literature to capture decent work understandings of suppliers and to theoretically underpin their relevance for the debates on the legitimacy and effectiveness of global labour standards. Empirically, the study explores cognitive decent work frames of garment suppliers and discusses them in reference to global decent work frames. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with thirty owners and managers in Egypt and Jordan served to identify suppliers' decent work frames. Owners and managers dominantly framed decent work as a (paternalistic) family responsibility and as a business responsibility. Further notions that recurred across interviews were the framing of decent work as a human responsibility, religious (Islamic) responsibility, philanthropic responsibility, and regulatory responsibility. The findings show that supplier frames partly go beyond, partly undermine, and partly accord with global conceptualisations of decent work. They imply the need to strengthen and better communicate the human rights orientation of global labour standards and to give local social partners the autonomy to supplement and specify standards according to their context-specific needs. Global regulations otherwise risk crowding out informal, locally specific decent work practices that benefit workers in GPNs. [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 purpose of this study paper is to examine Jordan's mineral development and investment policies. Mining policies that attract foreign investment must handle both traditional investor concerns and some new challenges. The paper delves deeply into issues such as a country's geological, political, financial, regulatory, operational, fiscal, social, and environmental characteristics, as well as profit and marketing factors. After analyzing these criteria for Jordan, they were compared to the MENA region in order to provide insights into potential changes and improvements to both the MENA and Jordan mineral policies. International investors have not been drawn to Jordan's mineral resource sector for a number of reasons, including—but not limited to—a lack of digitally available and accessible geological data, lack of access to finance exploration projects, an unfavorable legal and fiscal environment, lack of many of the best practices for transparency standards, and lack of awareness and promotion of Jordan's mineral potential among international businesses. For Jordan to improve its standing in the world for investing in mining, it needs effective mining regulations, effective regulatory agencies, very lenient foreign investment laws, highly competitive tax system, enormous geologic potential, highly qualified personnel, exceptional local expertise and skills, modern infrastructure, and stable political and economic systems. [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]

In a recent paper of Philcox, Goodman and Slepian, the solution of the elliptic Kepler's equation is given as a quotient of two contour integrals along a Jordan curve that contains in its interior the unique real solution of the elliptic Kepler's equation and does not include other complex zeroes. In this paper, we show that a similar explicit integral solution can be given for the hyperbolic Kepler's equation. With this purpose, we carry out a study of the complex zeros of the hyperbolic Kepler's equation in order to define suitable Jordan contours in the integrals. Even more, we show that appropriate elliptic Jordan contours can be defined for such integrals, which reduces the computing time. Moreover, using the ideas behind the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm, these integrals can be approximated by the composite trapezoidal rule which gives an algorithm with spectral convergence as a function of the number of nodes. The results of some numerical experiments are presented to show that this implementation is a reliable and very accurate algorithm for solving the hyperbolic Kepler's equation. [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]

This paper aims to explore the experiences of female leaders considering the interplay of gender, religion, and culture. Drawing on an inductive-qualitative study, the paper examines perceptions regarding the role of religion and cultural norms in women's ascension into leadership positions in Jordan. The results indicated that Jordanian women leaders adopted an Islamic feminist worldview and did not embrace a liberal nor a socialist/Marxist feminist worldview. Women leaders seemed wanting to claim their religion back from those forces that are reportedly holding their aspirations hostage to monolithic interpretations of religious texts. By constantly referring to their religion, female leaders wanted to be granted spaces of trust and responsibility in leadership positions that they did not see contradictory to the way they understood their faith. The paper provides insights into how women leaders understand prejudicial stereotypes and discrimination in their society, explaining how those are linked to patriarchal socio-cultural traditions emphasizing male control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green hydrogen and synthetic fuels are increasingly recognized as a key strategic element for the progress of the global energy transition. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with its large wind and solar potential, is well positioned to generate renewable energy at low cost for the production of green hydrogen and synthetic fuels, and is therefore considered as a potential future producer and exporter. Yet, while solar and wind energy potentials are essential, other factors are expected to play an equally important role for the development of green hydrogen and synthetic fuels (export) sectors. This includes, in particular, adequate industrial capacities and infrastructures. These preconditions vary from country to country, and while they have been often mentioned in the discussion on green hydrogen exports, they have only been examined to a limited extent. This paper employs a case study approach to assess the existing infrastructural and industrial conditions in Jordan, Morocco, and Oman for the development of a green hydrogen and downstream synthetic fuel (export) sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses two distinct but interwoven questions on the link between spirituality and religion in the lives of Syrian Muslim refugee parents. (1) How do religious and spiritual convictions impact these refugees and their families? (2) How do these convictions shape Syrian Muslim refugee parents' own positionality as caregivers and as individuals? We distinguish religious convictions as ones entrenched in the practice of organized religion (e.g., prayer and fasting), and spiritual convictions as ones associated with the frame of reference inspired by religion (e.g., embedded references to God and/or the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessing be upon him). This paper is focused on qualitative findings from 16 Syrian refugee parents (15 mothers and 1 father) and their individual families. While the study began as a pilot for an intervention program focused on early childhood education among refugee children in Jordan, it became overwhelmingly clear that the refugee parents' individual senses of parenthood, responsibility, and aspiration for their children's futures are inextricably linked to their spiritual and religious convictions. Highlights: Explores the importance of faith and spirituality in the context of refugee parenting and early childhood development. Provides insight into how refugee parents speak about their faith and spirituality in the context of their migration experiences, aspirations for their children, and as an extension of their own development. Based on a qualitative study with 16 Syrian caregivers in Jordan. Argues for the need to include awareness of and sensitivity to Islamic religious and spiritual practices in the design of interventions and programs concerning Muslim refugee children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the distribution of heat flow in the Baikal Rift Zone, the Shanxi-Liaohe Rift, the Jordan Rift, and in the Orly (Storoya) Trough in the northern Svalbard plate, as well as in the rift zone of Iceland. One notes an asymmetry in heat flow about the rift axial line compared with adjacent areas upon the background of its higher value. The origin of this asymmetry is due, not only to differences in the permeability of the faults in the sides of the rift structure, but also to planet-wide factors, in particular, the Coriolis force. The north–south rift structures considered here are situated in the northern hemisphere; their eastern flanksshow increased heat flow compared with the western flanks, and this is in agreement with the Coriolis force vector in the Earth's northern hemisphere. The geothermal asymmetry in oceanic crustal divergent zones as noted previously is also seen in pull-apart structures of continental rift zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let H be a real or complex Hilbert space with the dimension greater than one and B (H) the algebra of all bounded linear operators on H . Assume that δ is a linear mapping from B (H) into itself which is Jordan derivable at a given element Ω ∈ B (H) , in the sense that δ (A ∘ B) = δ (A) ∘ B + A ∘ δ (B) holds for all A , B ∈ B (H) with A ∘ B = Ω , where ∘ denotes the Jordan product A ∘ B = A B + B A . In this paper, we show that if Ω is an arbitrary but fixed nonzero operator, then δ is a derivation; if Ω is a zero operator, then δ is a generalized derivation. [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]

This study is an in-depth analysis of workers' rights in the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs) in Jordan. More specifically, it aims to discover the type and the extent of violations of workers' rights in garment factories. The study uses and analyzes primary qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with the people mainly responsible for the problem. It also uses secondary quantitative data related to the QIZs collected from the Ministry of Labor (MOL). The Jordanian labor law applies certain rules and regulations that protect workers' rights (migrants and nationals) in the QIZs according to international standards. However, the findings of this study indicate that there are many violations of various workers' rights in the garment factories, several of these are considered major rights violations. These transgressions are mostly related to the health of the worker and his financial benefits (wages and contracts) but also include dignity and honor, overworking, harassment and abuse, safety and working conditions, dormitories and nutrition, annual leave and sick leaves, work and residence permits, and freedom of association and strikes. The study suggests that the Government of Jordan (GOJ) should take a more effective role in safeguarding workers' rights in the QIZs, as well as impose multiple restrictions on the businesses that are incompatible with the laws and regulations. They also should make sure that all laws and regulations that protect workers' rights are implemented adequately, as well as increase the number of labor and health inspectors in the QIZs and their assessment visits to these zones. Moreover, they should provide protection for the workers to facilitate their access to the justice system, in cases of major violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility of copper mining in Jordan particularly those that are located in Dana natural reserve two areas (Feinan and Khirbet Nahas). The results showed that the operating mine in Feinan area is a good investment with a net present value (NPV) of $US 324.16 million, an IRR of around 41.11%, a discounted payback period, of 2.9 years and a capital efficiency index of 2.27. On the other hand, for Khirbet Nahas project, an operating mine will be a good investment too with an NPV of $US 932.97 million, an IRR of 72.48%, a discounted payback period of 1.6 years, and a capital efficiency index of 4.79. Sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo simulation for both projects were performed. The results showed that there is a positive relationship between NPV and total operating costs, total capital costs, and royalty rate, whereas a negative relationship exists between NPV and grade rate, price, and recovery rate. A total of 1000 iterations were also employed in the Monte Carlo simulation for both projects (Feinan and Khirbet Nahas) and once these iterations were utilized to determine the NPV for each iteration, it was concluded that there is 12.5% chance of negative NPV in Feinan project and 2.3% chance of negative NPV in Khirbet Nahas project. [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]

In terms of water resources, Jordan is considered one of the poorest countries in the world. Water resources management is one of the available options to decrease the gap between demand and resources. Water resources management requires optimum use of the available water resources taking into consideration resources availability, resources reliability, water use pattern, in addition to the socioeconomic issues. One of the most important aspects is human behaviour which has a strong impact on water management and on the ecosystem. Therefore, there is a need to follow a sustainable approach to improve the management and the understanding of the difficulties of water issues by integrating the physical, social, economic, and environmental aspects, as well as linking water issues to poverty indicator. In this paper, Water Poverty Index (WPI) will be used as a tool for water resources management. WPI was calculated based on five parameters: resources, access to water, capacity, use, and the environment. The Jordanian water strategy targets will be used to forecast the water situation in 2025 and calculate WPI. In 2002, the WPI was calculated and found at 46.3%, in comparison with higher figures for other countries. WPI was calculated for the year 2018, and the results showed a value of 50.7%. If the national water strategy targets and improvements will be successfully implemented, by 2025, the value is expected to be increased to 56.38%. Water resources are the most sensitive component of WPI. COVID-19 increased the rate of unemployment and poverty ratio which will affect WPI negatively. It's concluded that WPI could be used as a valuable indicator to help evaluate the running plans and monitor the management performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explore why women's participation in the Jordanian workforce remains comparatively low—despite an increase in the number of employed women across many countries and regions. Focusing on the Jordanian private sector, where the greatest disparities lie, we assess the conformity between the provisions that regulate family-related rights in the workplace within national labour law and international law. From this examination, we conclude that whilst law offers the potential for significant positive change in the Jordanian labour market, and notwithstanding the labour law reforms which took place between 2000 and 2020, the underlying structure of the existing laws is inimical to the goal of women's full participation. Using a women's rights perspective, we argue that, instead of piecemeal reform, the labour law sphere must be revised as a whole to better accommodate respect for women's needs in the workplace. This change must be underpinned by family-friendly legislation, which, as our study shows, is a key factor in alleviating some of the major challenges facing women workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper set out an automatic multicategory damage detection technique using convolutional neural networks (CNN) models based on image classification and features' extraction, to detect damages of historic structures such as: erosion, material loss, color change of the stone, and sabotage issues. The city of "Al-Salt" in Jordan was selected for the case study in this research. The best model showed an average damage detection accuracy of 95%. It was demonstrated that the proposed CNN model was significantly powerful, effective and reliable for damage detection of historic masonry buildings using features' extraction based on imaging, and it contributed to the management and safety of historic heritage and preservation. [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]

Let n ≥ 1 be a fixed integer and R be a ring with involution ' ∗ '. For any two elements x and y in R, the n-skew Lie product and n-skew Jordan product are given by ▿ [ x , y ] n = ▿ [ x , ▿ [ x , y ] n - 1 ] with ▿ [ x , y ] 0 = y , ▿ [ x , y ] 1 = ▿ [ x , y ] = x y - y x ∗ , ▿ [ x , y ] 2 = x 2 y - 2 x y x ∗ + y (x ∗) 2 and x ⋄ n y = x ⋄ (x ⋄ n - 1 y) with x ⋄ 0 y = y , x ⋄ 1 y = x ⋄ y = x y + y x ∗ , x ⋄ 2 y = x 2 y + 2 x y x ∗ + y (x ∗) 2 . The purpose of this paper is to characterize Jordan left ∗ -centralizers satisfying certain functional identities involving skew Lie product and skew Jordan products. In particular, it is proved that if R is a 2-torsion free prime ring with involution of the second kind admits a non-zero Jordan left ∗ -centralizer T such that ▿ [ x , T (x) ] n ∈ Z (R) (n = 1 , 2) for all x ∈ R , then T (x) = λ x ∗ for all x ∈ R , where λ ∈ C , the extended centroid of R. We also characterize Jordan left ∗ -centralizers of prime rings with involution via skew Jordan product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies suggest that children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) encounter language problems related to syntax. In particular, these children face difficulties in comprehending and answering complex language structures in Arabic. This paper examines whether a prototype Arabic assistive application can have an impact on the ability of children with ASD to comprehend and answer content questions and on their communicative skills. Via two questionnaires targeting 57 caregivers and ASD specialists in Jordan and a focus-group discussion with three teachers working in three autism centers in Jordan, a prototype assistive application named Aseel was created. To test the effect of using this app on enhancing ASD children's ability to comprehend and answer Arabic questions, a sample consisting of two groups of children: 20 verbal and 5 nonverbal children with ASD enrolled in three autism centers in Amman, Jordan was recruited. A pre-test containing 55 content questions was designed and tested on the two groups. Then, a treatment for three weeks took place in which the teachers trained the children on answering these questions using the app. A post-test was conducted after a three-day break to test whether the app affected the ability of verbal and nonverbal children with ASD to comprehend and answer the questions accurately. The data analysis revealed that the differences between the answers of the two groups in the pre- and post-tests were statistically significant. This suggests that this technology has the potential to aid both verbal and nonverbal children with ASD in effectively learning complex Arabic content questions. This assistive application enhances collaboration between teacher and children with ASD, visual-spatial thinking and communication with others. Another advantage of this app is increasing ASD children's vocabulary repertoire. Preliminary results involving nonverbal children showed that the icons which visually and auditorily represent the most basic needs for a person are proving effective in helping this group communicate with their caregivers and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptability of an effective access network in optical code division multiple access domain requires an efficient coding scheme which has the abilitiy to provide required communication capacity in terms of cardinality, reach, and data rates. In this paper, an extensive study and investigation has been carried out for adaptability study of a well-known coding scheme diagonal eigenvalue unity (DEU) code at various date rates in passive optical network (PON) environment. DEU code design is based on Jordan block matrix with ideal in-phase cross correlation (IPCC) properties. The numerical and simulation results show the ability of DEU code in supporting synchronized transmissions at different data rates that suits triple play services of video, audio and data (VAD). An algorithm is developed to determine the required chip duration that matches a particular service. It shows that data rate is more influential than code length on pulse duration especially for video applications. In support of the proposed algorithm, 5 Gb/s, 2.5 Gb/s, and 1.25 Gb/s data rate transmissions have been validated for various simultaneous users. In addition, a Poisson's distribution analysis is carried out aiming to study different bit rate scenarios with ad hoc population network. Results have concluded that higher value of average rate of simultaneous users (σ) is preferable for low data rate whereas the lower value of σ is suitable to the higher data rates in accordance with network population. In particular, for video streaming, the traffic running in a continuous fashion requires the highest transmission priority and small value of σ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslides are a geological phenomenon that is causing considerable economic and human losses annually in various regions of the world. In some cases, the complex behaviors of some such phenomena cause that single machine learning models fail in modeling them well. To overcome this issue, this paper presents two novel genetic-algorithm (GA)-based ensemble models constructed with the decision tree (DT), k-nearest neighbors (KNN), and Naive Bayes (NB) models based on the bagging and random sub-space (RS) methods for landslide susceptibility assessment and mapping in Ajloun and Jerash governorates in Jordan. Sixteen factors, including topographic, climatic, human, and geological factors were used as possible factors that influence landslide occurrence in the study area. In addition to this, one hundred and ninety two landslide locations were employed for training and testing the models. The GA was used in this study for feature selection based on three models: DT, KNN, and NB. Model performance evaluation based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve indicated that the ensemble models outperform the standalone ones. The values of the AUROC curves in the validation phases for the five models, namely, the GA-based DT, KNN, NB, bagging-based, and RS-based ensemble model, were 0.63, 0.69, 0.63, 0.89, and 0.95, respectively. The results of this study suggest that simple models can be combined using the bagging and RS methods to produce integrated models that have higher accuracy than that of any of the individual simple models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns test matrices for numerical linear algebra using an error-free transformation of floating-point arithmetic. For specified eigenvalues given by a user, we propose methods of generating a matrix whose eigenvalues are exactly known based on, for example, Schur or Jordan normal form and a block diagonal form. It is also possible to produce a real matrix with specified complex eigenvalues. Such test matrices with exactly known eigenvalues are useful for numerical algorithms in checking the accuracy of computed results. In particular, exact errors of eigenvalues can be monitored. To generate test matrices, we first propose an error-free transformation for the product of three matrices YSX. We approximate S by S ′ to compute Y S ′ X without a rounding error. Next, the error-free transformation is applied to the generation of test matrices with exactly known eigenvalues. Note that the exactly known eigenvalues of the constructed matrix may differ from the anticipated given eigenvalues. Finally, numerical examples are introduced in checking the accuracy of numerical computations for symmetric and unsymmetric eigenvalue problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For general complex or real 1-parameter matrix flows A(t)n, n and for static matrices A ∈ ℂ n , n alike, this paper considers ways to decompose matrix flows and single matrices globally via one constant matrix similarity Cn, n as A(t) = C− 1 ⋅ diag(A1(t),...,Aℓ(t)) ⋅ C or A = C− 1 ⋅diag(A1,...,Aℓ) ⋅ C with each diagonal block Ak(t) or Ak square and their number ℓ exceeding 1 if this is possible. The theory behind our proposed algorithm is elementary and uses the concept of invariant subspaces for the MATLAB eig computed 'eigenvectors' of one associated flow matrix B(ta) to find the coarsest simultaneous block structure for all flow matrices B(tb). The method works efficiently for all time-varying matrix flows A(t), be they real or complex, normal, with Jordan structures or repeated eigenvalues, differentiable, continuous, or discontinuous in t, and likewise for all fixed entry matrices A. Our intended aim is to discover unitarily diagonal-block decomposable flows as they originate in real-time from sensor given data for time-varying matrix problems that are unitarily invariant. Then, the complexities of their numerical treatments decrease by adopting 'divide and conquer' methods for their diagonal blocks. In the process, we discover and study k-normal fixed entry matrix classes that can be decomposed under unitary similarities into various k-dimensional block-diagonal forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To be in the competitive industrial world, industries required high quality, speed in completing the required work, and commitment to the delivery dates. One of the most important issues in the field of production management is the job shop scheduling problem (JSSP). In this paper, the researchers tried to solve JSSP of factory by presenting a method to improve the factory's production. Job shop scheduling (JSS) is a suitable method for solving these types of problems, which aims to improve the production flow through minimizing the whole operation time of the products. Moreover, considering the factory that depends on workers as same as machine, human factor should be considered while scheduling by using the workers' weightage, in order to improve the workers' working time flexibility in terms of their waiting time among their tasks by proposed model of JSS. In addition, the researchers proposed a new combination of weightage values by using Taguchi method, regarding to improve the workers' working time and using genetic algorithm (GA) to solve the proposed model of JSS. One of the factories which is located in Jordan, and it is considered as one of the important factories; nevertheless, it can cover the local demands hardly, and hence, it deserves to be as a study case for this research. The findings of the studies decreased the whole operation time of the products by saving 75 min for each production line and 90 min by using GA, and the proposed model improved the flexibility of the workers' working time in terms of their waiting times among their tasks. [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]

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]

Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, this study examines the relationship between workplace incivility and workers' psychological well-being. A related aim is to examine the link between workers' religiosity and their well-being, with workplace incivility moderating this nexus. Data were collected from 247 employees identified from private sectors (in Jordan and the UAE) via online-survey questionnaire. Factor analysis and hierarchical moderated multiple regression models were used to test the hypotheses. Study results show that workers' religiosity is positively and significantly associated with their psychological well-being, while workplace incivility is negatively (but insignificantly) associated with workers' psychological well-being. In addition, and contrary to our expectations and prior studies, our results suggest that workplace incivility strengthens the direct relationship between religiosity and well-being. The mechanism of this intersection may propose that rude and uncivil treatments positively predict self-blame, something that may lead the targets to become more religious to get recovery from different types of incivility and stressful life events. This study highlights the contextual applicability and possible extension of the JD-R theory through extending its model to religiosity and well-being of employees in a diverse cultural context in the Middle East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was structured to investigate the impact of technological factors on the effectiveness of enterprise resource planning (ERP) in Jordanian industrial firms, using a descriptive-analytical approach. This study also examines company size as a moderator variable, which has been measured using the logarithm of total assets extracted from each firm's annual report. The study's target population consisted of all Jordanian industrial firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange, totaling 55 firms. Managers participated as respondents, with 220 questionnaires distributed electronically, averaging four questionnaires per company. After data collection, 92 valid questionnaires were used for statistical analysis. The findings indicate a significant and positive relationship between technological factors (such as ease of use, perceived usefulness, and digital proficiency) and ERP system effectiveness in Jordanian industrial firms. However, the study revealed that trust, as one of the technological factors, did not significantly impact ERP system efficiency. Additionally, it was found that the moderating role of company size moderates positively the relationship between two technological factors (i.e., perceived usefulness and digital proficiency), and ERP system efficiency. The research suggests that industrial firms in Jordan should take into account technological factors, including factors like ease of use, perceived usefulness, and digital proficiency, to remain current with advancements that can improve the efficiency of ERP systems. This is important due to the positive influence it can have on the operational effectiveness of Jordanian industrial companies, aiding them in their planning and decision-making processes. [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 study aimed to explore the forms and causes of domestic violence against women in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic through a systematic literature review. The review yielded eight articles published between April 2020 and November 2022 in the final sample, all of which met the inclusion criteria. The results revealed 11 forms of domestic violence against women in Jordan during and after the full and partial lockdowns due to the pandemic. Physical violence was the most prevalent form of domestic violence, followed by economic, psychological, emotional, verbal, and sexual forms, as well as control and humiliation, bullying, online abuse, harassment and neglect-related violence. The causes were a combination of economic, socio-cultural, and psychological factors emerging because of the pandemic and lockdowns (e.g., poverty, job loss, low wages, gender discrimination, double burden on women [monotonous roles, paid work], male dominance, reduced income, high cost of living). Additionally, effects of the pandemic included psychological, mental, and emotional negative consequences (e.g., anxiety, fear, stress, depression, loneliness, failure, status frustration). Individuals in Jordanian societies employed the norms, ideas, and values of the patriarchal culture to negatively adapt to the economic and psychological effects of the pandemic, which contributed to more domestic violence cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the globe have carried on strict lockdown measures affecting millions of jobs, public life, and the well-being of people. This study examines people's subjective well-being, such as the perception of the economic situation and mental well-being, who made adjustments to cope with the earning losses. We estimate the well-being cost, which is the money required to compensate people because of the reduction in earnings or employment loss and the coping strategy followed to bring their well-being to the levels of those who have not adopted any coping strategy. We examine two outcomes; the perception of the economic situation and a mental well-being index. We employ data from the ERF COVID-19 MENA Monitor Surveys for Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. The results show that coping strategies with earning losses impact well-being and are associated with high costs. In most cases, the coping strategies of borrowing from banks and selling assets present the highest well-being costs. Furthermore, the estimates highlight significant discrepancies across gender and types of workers, such as those employed in the informal sector and temporary contracts. [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]

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]

Refugee children often face disruptions to their education before and during displacement. However, little is known about either levels or predictors of refugee children's literacy or about their attitudes toward reading in low- or middle-income countries. To address this, we conducted in-home literacy assessments using the Holistic Assessment of Learning and Development Outcomes with 322 Syrian refugee mother–child dyads who lived in Jordan (child age range 4–8 years, M = 6.32 years, 50% female). Overall, the children had quite low levels of literacy, although they indicated a strong enthusiasm for reading. Child age, maternal education, and maternal ability to read all predicted child literacy, although maternal literacy predicted it only among children enrolled in school. Among those enrolled in school (64.9% of the total sample, 88.7% of those aged ≥ 6), students attending hybrid classes had better literacy than those attending either solely in-person or solely online, although the frequency of school attendance did not predict literacy. A less consistent pattern emerged for predicting children's attitudes toward reading. Our results suggest an urgent need to improve literacy skills among refugee children in Jordan, as well as a need for validated measures of attitudes toward reading for use with Arabic-speaking youth. [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]

Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) is one of the most valuable species in the Mediterranean basin and is mainly used in reforestation programs in Jordan to combat desertification. Currently little is known about genetic variation in this species in Jordan. Thus, the aim of the study was to assess inter- and intra-population variation in cone (cone length, cone width, cone weight, and number of seeds per cone) and seed traits (seed length, seed width, 100-seed weight and germination). For this purpose, four natural and five planted populations were considered, and cones were collected from 15 to 20 open-pollinated families in each population and eight traits were analyzed. The results showed significant (p < 0.05) inter- and intra-population variation in cone and seed traits. More of the variation was among populations than within populations. The natural populations exhibited relatively higher phenotypic variability in cone and seed traits than the planted populations. Cone and seed traits showed positive correlations with altitude but negative correlations with mean annual temperature, suggesting that altitudinal factor should be considered in future reforestation program. The findings demonstrate the presence of moderate genetic variation in seed weight, which can be exploited to initiate an improvement program for the species and for ex-situ conservation in gene banks. Establishment of field gene banks at various locations and environments is necessary to preserve genetic resources of Aleppo pine. [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]

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]