IT Tools Applications in Audit Profession: The CPA’s Perspective

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate the extent of the application of information technology tools in the field of auditing in Jordan. Specifically, the study aims to determine the importance and the degree of use of information technology in audit control, planning, and documentation.   Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework of this research revolves around the utilization of information technology in auditing. It seeks to understand how information technology tools are perceived and utilized by auditors in Jordan and how these tools impact audit control, planning, and documentation processes.   Findings: Based on the survey of 60 auditors in Jordan, the research found the following key findings: There is a significant awareness (72.60%) among auditors about the importance of using IT tools in auditing. The use of audit applications and the perceived importance of these tools varied significantly among auditors. The degree of using information technology in planning and control tasks was reported to be at 72.13%. The application of information technology tools in documenting and recording audit work reached 78.04%. The perception of auditors regarding planning and controlling tasks assisted by IT tools is not affected by their experience.   Implications of the Research: The findings of this research have several implications for the field of auditing in Jordan: The awareness of the importance of IT tools in auditing indicates the potential for further integration of technology in the profession. The variation in the use and perceived importance of audit applications calls for a deeper understanding of the factors influencing these differences.   Originality and Value: The originality and value of this research lie in its focus on the application of information technology in auditing in the specific context of Jordan. As of the study's date, it provides up-to-date insights into the extent of IT adoption and its impact on audit control, planning, and documentation. The research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by shedding light on the specific challenges and opportunities faced by auditors in Jordan regarding IT adoption

The Impact of Tax Legislation on Public Shareholding Companies Tax Disclosure: A Comparative Study Between the Jordanian Tax System and the U.S. Tax System (State of Illinois)

Purpose: the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of tax legislation frequency and awareness on tax disclosures in publicly held companies in Jordan and the USA.   Theoretical Framework: the study utilizes a theoretical framework that considers the transparency, tax evasion, and availability of financial resources to the companies. The research employs an analysis of peer-reviewed journals and reports to explore the interaction between these variables.   Findings: the findings reveal that frequent changes in tax legislation reduce awareness levels but have no significant effect on transparency. Companies tend to prefer minimal disclosures rather than making extensive reports. Controlled policy changes enable companies to adjust their practices and influence the availability of resources. Increased awareness of tax policies enhances corporate understanding, but its impact on transparency is limited unless there is a mandatory requirement. Higher levels of awareness also contribute to reduced corporate evasion and improved availability of financial resources.   Implications of the research: the study has implications for tax legislators, providing insights into developing more effective tax legislation that enhances disclosures.   Originality/value: It highlights the importance of considering other moderating factors that influence policy effectiveness across different countries

Proposed Composite Location ID Code Needed for Asset management of Electric Distribution Networks

The absence of as built GIS map for lowvoltage ( LV ) electric network due to a very limited freezeperiod compared with the case of medium voltage (MV)electric network ,accordingly the location ID needed forasset management cannot be expressed purely spatial butthe LV network topology should be incorporated with thespatial location ID of the related topologically MVnetwork. As the LV network topology has a standarddata model and generic naming conventions , accordinglythe needed topological code can be created directly foreach LV network elements and then the composite locationID can be identified simply for each element of electricnetwork . The proposed approach is illustrated via selectedcase study

Virtual antenna array for reduced energy per bit transmission at Sub-5 GHz mobile wireless communication systems

This paper presents an innovative technique to synthesize a virtual antenna array (VAA) that consumes less energy than conventional antenna arrays that are used in mobile communications systems. We have shown that for a specific spectral efficiency a wireless system using the proposed virtual antenna array consumes significantly less energy per bit (∼3 dB) than a wireless system using a conventional multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) array. This means the adoption of the proposed VAA technology in smartphones, iPad, Tablets and even base-stations should significantly reduce the carbon footprint of wireless systems. The proposed VAA is realized by employing a pair of linear antenna arrays that are placed in an orthogonal configuration relative to each other. This orthogonal arrangement ensures the radiation is circularly polarized. The size of the standard radiating elements constituting the VAA were miniaturized using the topology optimization method. The design of the VAA incorporates substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) and metasurface technologies. The function of SIW in the design was twofold, namely, to reduce energy loss in the substrate on which the VAA is implemented, and secondly to mitigate unwanted electromagnetic interactions between the neighboring radiating elements and thereby enhancing isolation which otherwise would degrade the radiation characteristics of the array. Metasurface technology served to effectively increase the effective aperture of the array with no impact on the footprint of the array. The consequence of SIW and metasurface technologies was improvement in the gain and radiation efficiency of the array. The proposed four orthogonal 4-element VAA covers the entire sub-5 GHz frequency range, and it radiates bidirectional in the azimuth plane and omni-directional in the elevation plane. Moreover, it is relatively easy to design and fabricate. The proposed VAA has dimensions of 0.96λ0 × 0.96λ0 × 0.0016λ0 at mid-band frequency of 3 GHz. VAA has a measured gain of 25 dBi and radiates with 90% efficiency. The average isolation between the linear arrays constituting the virtual array is better than 27 dB.Dr. Mohammad Alibakhshikenari acknowledges support from the CONEX-Plus programme funded by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 801538. The authors also extend their appreciation to the Deputyship for Research & Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia for funding this research work through the project number 223202. Additionally, this work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Gobierno de España (Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional-FEDER-, European Union) under the research grant PID2021-127409OB-C31 CONDOR

Virtual antenna array for reduced energy per bit transmission at Sub-5 GHz mobile wireless communication systems

This paper presents an innovative technique to synthesize a virtual antenna array (VAA) that consumes less energy than conventional antenna arrays that are used in mobile communications systems. We have shown that for a specific spectral efficiency a wireless system using the proposed virtual antenna array consumes significantly less energy per bit (~ 3 dB) than a wireless system using a conventional multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) array. This means the adoption of the proposed VAA technology in smartphones, iPad, Tablets and even base-stations should significantly reduce the carbon footprint of wireless systems. The proposed VAA is realized by employing a pair of linear antenna arrays that are placed in an orthogonal configuration relative to each other. This orthogonal arrangement ensures the radiation is circularly polarized. The size of the standard radiating elements constituting the VAA were miniaturized using the topology optimization method. The design of the VAA incorporates substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) and metasurface technologies. The function of SIW in the design was twofold, namely, to reduce energy loss in the substrate on which the VAA is implemented, and secondly to mitigate unwanted electromagnetic interactions between the neighboring radiating elements and thereby enhancing isolation which otherwise would degrade the radiation characteristics of the array. Metasurface technology served to effectively increase the effective aperture of the array with no impact on the footprint of the array. The consequence of SIW and metasurface technologies was improvement in the gain and radiation efficiency of the array. The proposed four orthogonal 4-element VAA covers the entire sub-5 GHz frequency range, and it radiates bidirectional in the azimuth plane and omni-directional in the elevation plane. Moreover, it is relatively easy to design and fabricate. The proposed VAA has dimensions of 0.96λ0×0.96λ0×0.0016λ0 at mid-band frequency of 3 GHz. VAA has a measured gain of 25 dBi and radiates with 90% efficiency. The average isolation between the linear arrays constituting the virtual array is better than 27 dB

Review on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Assisted Sensor Node Localization in Wireless Networks: Soft Computing Approaches

Node positioning or localization is a critical requisite for numerous position-based applications of wireless sensor network (WSN). Localization using the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ispreferred over localization using fixed terrestrial anchor node (FTAN) because of low implementation complexity and high accuracy. The conventional multilateration technique estimates the position of theunknown node (UN) based on the distance from the anchor node (AN) to UN that is obtained from the received signal strength (RSS) measurement. However, distortions in the propagation medium may yield incorrect distance measurement and as a result, the accuracy of RSS-multilateration is limited. Though theoptimization based localization schemes are considered to be a better alternative, the performance of these schemes is not satisfactory if the distortions are non-linear. In such situations, the neural network (NN) architecture such as extreme learning machine (ELM) can be a better choice as it is a highly non-linearclassifier. The ELM is even superior over its counterpart NN classifiers like multilayer perceptron (MLP) and radial basis function (RBF) due to its fast and strong learning ability. Thus, this paper provides a comparative review of various soft computing based localization techniques using both FTAN and aerial ANs for better acceptability

Review on unmanned aerial vehicle assisted sensor node localization in wireless networks: soft computing approaches

Node positioning or localization is a critical requisite for numerous position-based applications of wireless sensor network (WSN). Localization using the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is preferred over localization using fixed terrestrial anchor node (FTAN) because of low implementation complexity and high accuracy. The conventional multilateration technique estimates the position of the unknown node (UN) based on the distance from the anchor node (AN) to UN that is obtained from the received signal strength (RSS) measurement. However, distortions in the propagation medium may yield incorrect distance measurement and as a result, the accuracy of RSS-multilateration is limited. Though the optimization based localization schemes are considered to be a better alternative, the performance of these schemes is not satisfactory if the distortions are non-linear. In such situations, the neural network (NN) architecture such as extreme learning machine (ELM) can be a better choice as it is a highly non-linear classifier. The ELM is even superior over its counterpart NN classifiers like multilayer perceptron (MLP) and radial basis function (RBF) due to its fast and strong learning ability. Thus, this paper provides a comparative review of various soft computing based localization techniques using both FTAN and aerial ANs for better acceptability

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

A rare presentation of Austrian syndrome with septic arthritis in an immunocompetent female

BACKGROUND: Austrian syndrome, which is also known as Osler\u27s triad, is a rare aggressive pathology consisting of pneumonia, endocarditis, and meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and carries drastic complications. CASE PRESENTATION: A case of a 68-year-old female with a past medical history of hypertension and had a recent viral influenza is presented. She developed bacterial pneumonia, endocarditis with mitral and aortic vegetations and perforation, meningitis, and right sternoclavicular septic arthritis. Two prior case reports have described sternoclavicular septic arthritis as part of Austrian syndrome. Our case is the third case; however, it is the first case to have this tetrad in an immunocompetent patient with no risk factors, i.e., males, chronic alcoholism, immunosuppression, and splenectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for the possibility of sternoclavicular joint septic arthritis as a complication of Austrian syndrome in immunocompetent patients