Syrian Refugees and Quality of Education in Jordan

The Syria crisis has considered the world's largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. In other words, it has triggered the world's biggest refugee's crisis currently. Jordan has topped a list of ten countries which host more than half of the world’s refugees, according to an Amnesty International (AI) report. Jordan, which has taken in over 2.7 million refugees, was ranked as the top refugee-hosting countr

Challenge and potential of future agricultural development in Jordan:role of education and entrepreneurship

The paper examines the status of agriculture development in Jordan, current challenges and potential of future development. Aim of the study is to find out the role of education and entrepreneurship in fostering agriculture development in Jordan through: introducing new technologies into the sector; applying modern and global marketing perspective, and youth entrepreneurship empowerment. This study is based on theoretical approach based on secondary research, and primary research includes two surveys were carried out at this study. Like various studies this study confirmed that water scarcity is the main challenge facing agriculture development in Jordan, and the sector is less developed than other sectors in the country. Nevertheless, this study added that youth entrepreneurship low participation in the sector is not only due to financial shortage and youth insufficient knowledge, but it's due to their low attitude to working in agriculture too. Therefore, it is suggested that there is a need for significant paradigm shift in the education system to meet the needs of the market. Also utilizing the role of R&D to enhance the management of water resources and emphasize desalination and wastewater reuse, and change youth's attitude to working in agriculture. Add to the aforementioned that there is a need to provide more financial and technical support to attract and help youth entrepreneurs to invest in the sector

Tuning of the Active Hair Bundle

The organs of the inner ear rely upon a population of several thousand sensory hair cells to amplify and transduce acoustic, seismic, and kinesthetic signals. Each hair cell detects mechanical disturbances by means of its hair bundle, a motile organelle consisting of actin-filled, villous projections (called stereocilia) endowed with assemblies (called adaptation motors) of mechano-sensitive ion channels and myosin molecules that power both spontaneous and evoked movements. Active hair-bundle motility serves two functions: it mechanically amplifies sensory stimuli; and it regulates their transduction into electrical signals that drive the hair-cell synapse. To characterize these two functions, we consider here a model of the mechanical and electrical dynamics of the hair bundle of the bullfrog sacculus. Under simplifying assumptions, we reduce this model of a muscle fiber, and outline a procedure for estimating its parameters from experiment. We delineate the bifurcation structure of this simplified model, and analyse by perturbation methods its behavior in various dynamical regimes, notably in the relaxation-oscillation regime that displays prominently the hair bundle\u27s active process; and in the near-Hopf-bifurcation regime at which auditory hair cells are thought to operate in vivo. We find close similarities between the dynamics of the active hair bundle and those of simplified models of a spiking neuron. In light of this analysis, we offer an account of the biophysical mechanisms underlying the spontaneous oscillations, frequency specificity, nonlinear gain, and self-tuning predicted for auditory hair bundles poised near a Hopf bifurcation

Disentangling the Intrinsic Attributes and the Physical Properties in Cobalt-based Quaternary Heusler Compounds

Heusler compounds are cubic intermetallics with a wide range of interesting properties, which are closely related to the structure of the material. In addition, several exotic physical phenomena have been predicted for different compositions in the family, but have not been experimentally realized. By and large, the lack of success in realization of various properties are due to the issues with intrinsic material attributes, which have been difficult to resolve as the relationship between them is not well understood. The aim of this work has been to unravel the entanglement between the intrinsic material attributes of cobalt-based quaternary Heusler compounds such as the structure, defects (disorder), chemical inhomogeneities etc., and the resulting physical properties

Finding global minimum using filled function method

Filled function method is an optimization method for finding global minimizers. Filled function method is a combination of a local search in findings local solutions as well as global solution. It is basically a construction and eventually the inclusion of an auxiliary function called the filled function into the algorithm. Optimizing the objective function at an initial point will only yield a local minimizer. By using the auxiliary function, the local minimizer is shifted to a new lower basin of the objective function. The shifted point is the new initial solution for the local search to find the next local minimizer, where the function value is lower. The process continued until the global minimizer is achieved. This research used several test functions to examine the effectiveness of the method in finding global solution. The results show that this method works successfully and further research directions are discussed

Investigating the Impact of Accounting Information System on the Profitability of Jordanian Banks

Accounting information system is a system which provides the vital information for planning, organizing, directing, leading and control on the activities of the organization. It helps the administrators to take strategic decisions in the organization. It is an integrated set of physical and human elements that work together in order to facilitate the completion of the operational functions. It is the process of collecting, analyzing and converting data into action. Every organization either small, medium or large organization, profit-making or a social service setup, a public or a private sector undertaking, a manufacturing or a service organization, a local or a global corporation has an accounting information system. The effectiveness of an organization depends upon how well the accounting information system performs its functions. Taking this into cognizance, the present research has been conducted to examine the impact of accounting information system on the profitability of selected commercial banks in Jordan. Data was collected through self administered questionnaires from 206 employees and analyzed with the application of linear regression.  The findings highlighted that there is a significant impact of accounting information system on the profitability of banks under study. Keywords: accounting information system (AIS), profitability, Jordan, banks, regression

The Effect of Internal Audit on Organizational Performance: An Empirical Exploration of Selected Jordanian Banks

Internal audit is a systematic and independent examination of data, financial statements, accounts records, operations and performances of an enterprise for the purpose of verifying their authenticity and fairness. It is a broad term which means a number of checks and controls exercised in a business to ensure efficient working in the organization. It is regarded as indicating the whole system of controls through vigilance and direction established by the management in the conduct of business.  It has become an indispensable management tool for achieving effective control by detecting the weaknesses in management operations in all industry especially banking industry. Taking this into cognizance, this study examines the effect of internal auditing on the organizational performance of major Jordanian banks. A sample of 364 employees has been selected for the study. Data have been collected through self administered questionnaires and analyzed with the help of multiple regression. Internal audit is used as the independent variable whereas organizational performance is the dependent variable. The analysis of data revealed that there is a significant impact of internal audit on the organizational performance in all banks except Arab Bank. Keywords: internal auditing, organization, performance, banks, multiple regression

Determination of macro and micronutrients levels in organic manure soils and irrigation water

The organic fertilization is cornerstone to raise production value of agricultural land and reduce environmental pollution resulting from the excessive use of chemical fertilizers. Therefore, recycling is important factor that lead to the provision of large quantities of organic fertilizers that meet the needs of agricultural land, especially sandy soils that are poor in organic matter. The study includes estimating the concentration of selected chemical elements and heavy metals in agricultural soils fertilized with organic matter and recycled irrigation water in some areas of the Wadi-Al shati including (Ashkeda , Qyra, Dabdab, Qaqum , Tamazawa , Aqar , and Mahruqa ), where the soil physical and chemical properties are analyzed here. The results showed that the studied soils consistency range from sandy to loamy sand, which has an important role in determining the ability of the soil to retain nutrients. Organic matter played a role in increasing the productivity of sandy soils by 0.63% and improved the cation exchange capacity to reach 39.36 million equivalent / 100 g soil in sandy soils textures. Also, the study showed that the clay minerals and organic matter and pH are the most important factors that influence the content of the soil of heavy elements in addition to the clay minerals which originated the soil. The results showed that irrigation water has direct effect on the properties of physico-chemical properties of soil where accumulation of salts like sulfates of calcium,  magnesium and sodium chloride , calcium, Bicarbonate calcium in the soil. Results showed that the concentration of the elements manganese, chromium, and cadmium in irrigation water was higher than the maximum limits by the FAO standard. Also, the results show that levels of zinc, nickel and iron were within the allowable limit, and the elemental lead and copper are below detection limits. Keywords: Fertilization, Environmental pollution, Recycling, Nutrients, Production value, Physico-chemical properties

Integrating Advanced Facades intro Sustainable Office Buildings in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE

Abu Dhabi emirate consume about 130 millions AED in air conditioning electricity bills, this amount is only for 700 buildings in Abu Dhabi City and 300 buildings in Musafah district. Abu Dhabi city consumes 239.70 Kw/m2/year; however Musafah district consumes 179.92 Kw/m2/year. The difference came from different in total area of glass building facades between Abu Dhabi city and Musafah district buildings. Despite the fact that Abu Dhabi is one of the hottest cities in the Gulf region, its modern office buildings are characterized by glass facades. Such a concept comes with increased air conditioning operational costs due to the higher solar gain. Architects and engineers should understand the behavior of the buildings they design if environmental performance and comfort are to be utilized. The overall performance of glazing elements in an office building can be enhanced when they are designed to be part of a complete fa9ade system. Designers can reduce glass facades related energy losses by reducing air leakage through the external skin, using high performance windows, increasing insulation levels, and minimizing thermal bridging. In terms of energy efficiency, the use of double skin facades (DSF) has also gained increasing popularity in many parts pf the world. This technique can increase comfort, reduce operating costs, and reduce overall energy. Despite these advantages, there is a little experience of using DSF technique in the Gulf region; mainly because of the additional costs associated with multi-layered facades and need to be convinced of the advantages of this type of construction, In addition to that DSF technique need specific simulation program with very high accuracy results or mirror image model of DSF technique to only think to use this technique in our regions. This thesis examines the growing interest in using glazing elements and integrating the most advanced transparent facades into high performance sustainable office building in Abu Dhabi, taking into consideration the climatic condition of the city. Different orientations, different systems of single skin fa9ade and Double skin facade, different types of glass based on over all heat transfer value (U-value) have been tested, using Hourly Analysis Program version 4.20 (HAP 4.20) which is one of the most famous simulation programs in air conditioning load analysis. The study has concluded the following: 1- The use of glazing facades has gained increasing popularity in office buildings in Abu Dhabi, despite a lack of knowledge about the energy impact. 2- Attention is given to the use of double skin facade systems, since these allow natural ventilation, provide a degree of sound insulation, provide a reduction in energy consumption, and increase occupant comfort. 3- New construction technologies and better integration strategies can change the perception of glass facades from energy losers to energy managers . 4- The use of advanced facades such DSF will incorporate dynamic elements to provide the control needed to environmental conditions and reduce energy consumption in office buildings. 5- It is important for architects and engineers to understand the behavior of the buildings they design if environmental performance and comfort are to be maximized. To achieve appropriate conditions in office buildings. 6- The challenge that remains to adapt the new advanced facades is that; these techniques require an economic justification. The potential energy savings must be converted into real money in order to make real comparisons with the construction costs of building facades