The Effect of Re-Listing between First Market and Second Market on Dividend Policy in Amman Stock Exchange(ASE)

This study aimed at investigating the impact of re-listing between the first and second market on the dividend policy for the listed companies in the ASE. It also aimed at investigating whether these companies apply a clear dividends policy. The study used data available in the annual reports of the listed companies in the ASE. The study concluded there is a negative significant relationship between re-listing between the first and second market with dividend policy.  The results also indicated there is a strong significant positive relationship between EPS, FIXA and ROA with dividend policy. These results suggest that companies classified in the first market do not prefer adopting a constant dividend policy because it accomplished its goal to reaching the market, hence reducing the percentage of distributed profits. Keywords: Company Re-listing; Dividends Policy; Financial Performance

The State of Academic Research Advancement in Hospitality: A 5- Year Review From 2018 To 2022 of the Jordanian Universities

Scientific research in the field of hospitality occupies a distinguished position in various research aspects, as it constitutes an important proportion of scientific research related to management, especially business administration, as well as an important aspect of practical research related to social and human sciences. For this reason, this study is presented to track the development of scientific research in the field of hospitality in Jordan and the aspects it touched upon. A comprehensive systematic review approach of five years of hospitality-published research on google scholar was carried out by tracking the official website of scholars in Jordanian universities. A total of 73 hospitality-related articles on Google Scholar by Jordanian scholars at public universities over the past five years were collected and analyzed for this review. The results showed that there is an abundance of research products for the year 2021, that researchers at the University of Jordan are the most scientifically productive in hospitality research, and that most of the research interests were related to human resource management in the field of hospitality. This study provides an important theoretical contribution to guide future researchers to future issues of interest to the hospitality sector in Jordan that were not addressed by the researchers

Reusable mesh signature scheme for protecting identity privacy of IoT devices

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Big data analytics in auditing and the consequences for audit quality: A study using the technology acceptance model (TAM)

The study examines the impacts of using two dimensions of the technology acceptance model (TAM), perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, on the adoption of big data analytics in auditing, and the subsequent impact on audit quality. Five hypotheses were developed. A questionnaire survey was undertaken with external affiliated audit companies and offices in Jordan. Eventually, 130 usable questionnaires were collected, representing a 72.22% response rate. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed for diagnosing the measurement model, and to test the hypotheses of the study. The study finds that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a direct effect on audit quality, without mediating the actual use of data analytics. However, the use of big data analytics is shown to moderate the relationship between perceived usefulness and audit quality, but not between the perceived ease of use and audit quality. The study is one of the first to examine auditors’ acceptance of big data analytics in their work and the impact of this acceptance and actual use on audit quality. It contributes to the existing literature in auditing through its application of SEM to examine the impact of big data analytics usage on audit quality by using the TAM

Effect of water flow rate on quantity and quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in nutrient film technique (NFT) under hydroponics conditions

In the study of hydroponics, questions have risen concerning about ideal water flow that allow the plant to absorbing highest amount of nutrient from the nutrient solution during irrigating process. Thus, this experiment was aimed to determine the ideal water flow rate in nutrient film technique system in order to optimize the nutrients uptake with growth of lettuce. Different flow rates 10, 20 and 30 L/hour were assigned as T1, T2 and T3, respectively, with lettuce plants and the space between plants 15 cm. Generally, the growth decreased significantly with increasing in water flow rate. The analysis of lettuce hydroponics variable reveals that flow rate at 20 L/hour provides higher mean rank rather than other flow rate 10 L/hour and 30 L/hour. The findings of this research stated that if flow rate is increased to 30 L/hour plant height, number of leaves, number of outer and inner leaves, heat mass and stem mass decreases. On the whole from the analysis it is concluded that for flow rate 20 L/hour enhances the growth rate of lettuce in hydroponics hence it is stated that flow rate of 20 L/hour is good flow rate rather than 10 L/hour and 30 L/hour. Water flow in nutrient film technique is essential to be ideal through allow the plants root to absorb all elements needed form nutrient solutions in hydroponics system. And thus, water movement in the system and the rate of turnover should be designed to ensure good contact time for roots and water flow in the system

Effects of different growth media and planting densities on growth of lettuce grown in a closed soilless system

This study aimed at determining the effects of growth medium and planting density on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) production under a closed soilless system. Soilless lettuces were produced during autumn season of 2012-13, that were tested under three different growth media and two planting densities (16 and 33 plants/m2). The highest head mass and marketable head mass (0.640 and 609 kg) were obtained at planting density (16 plants/m2). When analyzed for interaction between the growth medium and planting density, the higher head mass (691 and 697 g) was obtained between the interactions Tuff br : peatmoss and Tuff br with planting density of 16 plants/m2. The results showed that planting density and growth medium exhibited significant effects on stem weight (g), weight of leaves (outer+inner) (g), number of non-consumable leaves, number of outer leaves, number of inner leaves, total number of leaves, marketable head mass (g), head mass (g) and plant height (cm). In conclusion, the substrates interference with the development of lettuce plants, it was Tuffbr : Peatmoss and Tuff brown which provided the best plant growth

Comprehensive study of non-synoptic wind effects on buildings

The present study examines wind loads on flat roof low-rise buildings under the effect of the simulated wind speed profile of the downburst phenomena. Examination of buildings is necessary since very few studies have examined non-synoptic winds. Indeed, non-synoptic winds have not been considered in the wind provisions of codes and standards. As a result, the interaction between wind and buildings under these phenomena should be investigated as in the case for the assessment of current well-known Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) winds. Many trials have been carried out at the wind tunnel of Concordia University to simulate the downburst phenomena. Different configurations have been tried to simulate wind speed profile close to the available target full-scale data. The produced wind speed profile and turbulence intensity are presented in terms of comparisons among the target profile, the ABL profile and downbursts profiles of previous studies. The size of roof pressure zones and the magnitude of pressure coefficients on flat roofs of low-rise buildings have been examined experimentally in the wind tunnel of Concordia University. Two building models were constructed at a length scale of 1:400 with identical plan dimensions (60 m x 60 m) and two building heights (10 m and 20 m). The models were tested for 7 wind directions: 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75° and 90°. The pressure measurement results have been presented in terms of contours of enveloped local pressure coefficients. The results of the current study have been compared with those of ABL (same model dimensions) and downburst of previous studies. It was found that the produced downburst wind speed profile of the current study agrees well with the target full scale data. The velocity increases at a low height and decreases going upwards. The results of the present study show that the wind direction plays a main role in the pressure coefficient distributions, the most critical wind direction is different for the roof corner and the roof edge. In addition, it was found that the higher building heights experience higher wind loads

Shrinkage Of Alkali-Activated Slag: Mitigation Techniques

This thesis presents a simultaneous investigation of the autogenous and total drying shrinkage behavior of Alkali-activated slag (AAS) as a binder. AAS binders are receiving global interest as a potentially sustainable alternative binding material due to their environmental benefits, impressive mechanical properties performance, and non-heat curing requirement. However, high shrinkage and cracking tendencies are hindering the effectiveness of AAS binders and are the main obstacles that must be addressed before widespread use. This dissertation addresses the substantial shrinkage in the AAS system by simultaneously investigating the autogenous and total drying shrinkage behavior of AAS. Applying three main mitigation strategies, this research presents novel findings to which show significant reductions in AAS’s shrinkage. Firstly, the effect of activator nature on shrinkage was studied, which highlighted the sensitivity of AAS systems to various levels of silicate modulus (Ms) and sodium oxide (Na2O%). The findings highlighted the critical interactions between AAS pore solution compositions and shrinkage-reducing admixture (SRA) efficiencies as a shrinkage mitigation technique. Overall, a 62% and 41% reduction in the measured autogenous and total drying shrinkage were acheived, respectively. The second mitigation strategy is the internal curing of AAS by superabsorbent polymers (SAPs). Specifically, the influence of SAPs on reaction kinetics, pore structure, and microstructure of AAS was studied based upon the SAPs desorption kinetics (i.e., concentrations and release timing). SAPs significantly mitigated the autogenous and total drying shrinkage up to 90% and 30%, respectively. Finally, the third strategy combines the benefits of both SRAs and SAPs to address the shrinkage behavior of AAS. At the time of submission, this combination approach has not been investigated to the best of our knowledge. This novel approach investigated the potential interactions between SRA molecules and SAPs networks, yielding enhancement in mitigation of the total drying shrinkage by around 69%. This effect is attributed to the comprehensive influence of both the surface tension and internal relative humidity

Structures and Thermodynamic Stability of Cobalt Molybdenum Oxide (CoMoO 4 -II)

This contribution reports density functional theory (DFT) calculations on structural and electronic properties of bulk and surfaces of cobalt molybdenum oxide CoMoO4-II; i.e., a material that enjoys a wide array of chemical catalytic and optical applications. Estimated lattice constants and atomic charges for bulk CoMoO4-II reproduce limited analogous experimental measurements. Bader's charges confirm the ionic nature for metal-O bonds in bulk and surfaces of CoMoO4-II. Plotted partial density of states reveal a narrow band gap of 1.8 eV for bulk CoMoO4-II. We found that cleaving bulk of CoMoO4-II along the low-Miller indices afford twelve distinct surfaces. Upward displacement of oxygen atom becomes evident when contrasting bulk positioning of atoms with relaxed surfaces. The two mixed Mo/O- and Co/O–terminated surfaces dominate the thermodynamic stability diagram at 1 atm and 300 – 1400 K, and across a wide range of oxygen chemical potential. The presence of surface oxygen atoms in these stable surfaces is expected to facilitate the occurrence of oxygen reduction reactions as experimentally demonstrated. Likewise, the adjacent surface cations (Mo4+/Co2+) and anions (O2−) serve as Lewis-acid pairs; i.e., very potent active sites in prominent catalysis reactions