Measuring financial reporting quality of non-financial firms listed in Amman Stock Exchange

Purpose- The purpose of this study is to measure financial reporting quality of non-financial firms listed in ASE. As the financial information accuracy and transparency is vital for internal and external users, this study insures that financial reporting quality and financial information published for non-financial firms in ASE is not manubulated, accurate, combitable, timely published, adequate, and free of earning management, to be usefull for decision making for all users, especially for new investors. Methodology- The period 2010 – 2019 forms the data for the statistical analysis. In addition, and to measure the FRQ, the paper uses time series analysis techniques, including descriptive analysis, frequencies and multiple OLS regression were used. Using data from 910 firm-years observation of companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange for the period of 2010 to 2019. Findings- The analysis reveals that The probability for F-Statistics < 0.05, this led to accept the statistical model. on the other hand, R square is 31.3 % which means that the explanatory power of modified Jones model (Dechow et al., 1995) reach 31.3% in explain the practices of earnings management in Jordanian companies. on the other hand, the VIF values are lower than 10 and tolerances higher than 10% which mean there is no multicollinearity problem in the model. as for the 1/A_(i,t-1) shows a significant and negative relationship with total accruals, were 〖∆(Sales-AR)〗_it/A_(i,t-1) and 〖PPE〗_it/A_(i,t-1) 1/A_(i,t-1) shows a significant and positive relationship with total accruals. Conclusion- the highest number of companies practicing earnings management in the year (2012 and 2014) was 60%, while the lowest number of companies that practice earnings management in the year (2015) and it was 32%, on the other hand, the highest number of companies do not practicing earnings management in the year (2015) was 68%, while the lowest number of companies that do not practice earnings management in the year (2012 and 2014) and it was 40%.Publisher's Versio

Protection of the texts using Base64 and MD5

The encryption process combines mathematics and computer science. Cryptography consists of a set of algorithms and techniques to convert the data into another form so that the contents are unreadable and unexplainable to anyone who does not have the authority to read or write on these data. The main objective of the use of encryption algorithms is to protect data and information in order to achieve privacy. This paper discusses an encryption method using base64, which is a set of encoding schemes that convert the same binary data to the form of a series of ASCII code. Also, The MD5 hash function is used to hash the encrypted file performed by Base64. As an example for the two protection mechanisms, Arabic letters are used to represent the texts. So using the two protection methods together will increase the security level for protecting the data

MOIM: a novel design of cryptographic hash function

A hash function usually has two main components: a compression function or permutation function and mode of operation. In this paper, we propose a new concrete novel design of a permutation based hash functions called MOIM. MOIM is based on concatenating two parallel fast wide pipe constructions as a mode of operation designed by Nandi and Paul, and presented at Indocrypt 2010 where the size of the internal state is significantly larger than the size of the output. And the permutations functions used in MOIM are inspired from the SHA-3 finalist Grøstl hash function which is originally inspired from Rijndael design (AES). As a consequence there is a very strong confusion and diffusion in MOIM. Also, we show that MOIM resists all the generic attacks and Joux attack in two defense security levels

Joux multicollisions attack in sponge construction

Cryptographic hash functions take an unfixed size of input and produce a fixed size of an output. A hash function usually has two main components: a compression function and mode of operation. Sponge construction is one of the main operations of modes of used in modern cryptographic hash function. In this paper, we present multicollisions attack in sponge construction. In 2004, Joux [3] presented multicollision attack in iterated hash function. Our attack is similar to Joux attack but specifically for sponge construction1. We show that finding multicollisions in sponge construction of messages that hash to the same value, is not harder finding ordinary collisions. Then, we use this attack as a tool to prove that concatenating more than one hash function in order to increase the security level does not yield to more secure construction

Influence of Polyvinylpyrrolidone Concentration on Properties and Anti-Bacterial Activity of Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles

Environmentally green synthesis of stable polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)-capped silver nanoparticles (PVP-AgNPs) was successfully carried out. The present study focused on investigating the influence of adding PVP during the synthesis process on the size, optical properties and antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles produced. An aqueous extract of Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaves was used as a reducing agent. The effects of different PVP concentrations and reducing time on the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized by UV–Vis spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrum (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and nano tracker analysis (NTA). The addition of PVP was studied. The prepared PVP-AgNPs were spherical with an average size of 13 nm. FTIR analysis confirmed that PVP protects AgNPs by a coordination bond between silver nanoparticles and both N and O of PVP. DLS results indicated the good dispersion of silver nanoparticles. PVP-AgNPs were found to be stable for nearly 5 months. Antibacterial studies through the agar well diffusion method confirmed that silver nanoparticles synthesized using PVP had no inhibitor activity toward Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as opposed to silver nanoparticles prepared without adding PVP, which showed a significant antibacterial activity towards some of the tested pathogens

Resiliency of Smart Power Meters to Common Security Attacks

AbstractThe development of Smart Grid power systems is gaining momentum in many countries leading to massive deployment of smart meters to realize the envisioned benefits. However, there are several concerns among the consumer communities and the service providers with respect to information security when it comes to the deployment of smart meters. This paper attempts to address the main challenge related to smart grid information security by examining the resiliency of smart meters to security threats and attacks. Several common information security attacks are being used to study their impact on the performance of smart meters in a controlled laboratory environment. Results obtained showed drastic effect on the functionality of smart meters and their associated data gathering servers

Protection of the digital holy Quran using SAB hash function

Cryptography consists of a set of algorithms and techniques to convert the data into another form so that the contents are unreadable and unexplainable to anyone who does not have the authority to read or write on these data. One of the tools used by cryptography is the hash function. The hash function is used to hash the file so that if anyone tries to modify the text in the file, the number of file obtained from hashing will change. In this paper, we designed a concrete hash function called SAB. SAB hash function uses a permutation Q used in Grøstl hash function as a permutation function. Also, it uses the fast wide pipe (FWP) construction designed by Nandi and Paul presented in Indocrypt2010 conference. SAB hash function is designed to protect the data integrity of the digital Holy Quran from alterations or manipulations. SAB hash function outputs 512-bits as the final digests

Protection of text using SHA1 and Base64

Protection of information is a prerequisite demand in the world of computers today. Protection of information can be accomplished in different methods. The main objective of the use of the protection of information is to protect data and information in order to achieve privacy. This paper discusses two methods of protection of information, an encryption method called Base64, which is a set of encoding schemes that convert the same binary data to the form of a series of ASCII code. Also, The SHA1 hash function is used to hash the encrypted file performed by Base64. As an example of an ASCII code, Arabic letters are used to represent the texts. So using the two protection methods together will increase the security level for protecting the data

Electronic Switch Arrays for Managing Microbattery Arrays

Integrated circuits have been invented for managing the charging and discharging of such advanced miniature energy-storage devices as planar arrays of microscopic energy-storage elements [typically, microscopic electrochemical cells (microbatteries) or microcapacitors]. The architecture of these circuits enables implementation of the following energy-management options: dynamic configuration of the elements of an array into a series or parallel combination of banks (subarrarys), each array comprising a series of parallel combination of elements; direct addressing of individual banks for charging/or discharging; and, disconnection of defective elements and corresponding reconfiguration of the rest of the array to utilize the remaining functional elements to obtain the desited voltage and current performance. An integrated circuit according to the invention consists partly of a planar array of field-effect transistors that function as switches for routing electric power among the energy-storage elements, the power source, and the load. To connect the energy-storage elements to the power source for charging, a specific subset of switches is closed; to connect the energy-storage elements to the load for discharging, a different specific set of switches is closed. Also included in the integrated circuit is circuitry for monitoring and controlling charging and discharging. The control and monitoring circuitry, the switching transistors, and interconnecting metal lines are laid out on the integrated-circuit chip in a pattern that registers with the array of energy-storage elements. There is a design option to either (1) fabricate the energy-storage elements in the corresponding locations on, and as an integral part of, this integrated circuit; or (2) following a flip-chip approach, fabricate the array of energy-storage elements on a separate integrated-circuit chip and then align and bond the two chips together

Current views of community and hospital pharmacists on pharmaceutical care services in the United Arab Emirates: A mixed methodological study [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: The profession of pharmacy has evolved significantly in recent years in terms of professional service delivery. The aim of this study was to explore the current views of pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on pharmaceutical care services and the nature of barriers encountered in practice using qualitative and quantitative assessment methods. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among hospital and community pharmacists (n = 305) between March and May 2021, using qualitative and quantitative assessment methods. In the qualitative phase, 15 interviews were conducted to explore five main criteria: patient information, inadequate patient counseling, prescribing errors prevention and identifying drug-related problems, lack of participation in health awareness programs, and barriers to pharmaceutical care implementation. In the quantitative phase, 305 consenting pharmacists completed a questionnaire on seven criteria: demographic profile, pharmacist-physician interaction, patient counseling assessment, patient reports of adverse drug events, pharmacist participation in health awareness programs, perceptions of reducing prescribing errors and identifying drug-related problems, and barriers to appropriate pharmaceutical care implementation. Results: The results of both the qualitative and quantitative phases of the study revealed that pharmacists' influence on practice in the UAE is limited due to many factors, mainly lack of time and patients' ignorance of the pharmacist's role in the medical field. The mean responses regarding pharmacists' approach to patient counseling and patients' knowledge of pharmacists' role in managing adverse drug reactions were 77.1% and 59.7%, respectively. Active participation in health awareness programs was 64.8%. The mean positive response of participants in reducing prescribing errors and recognizing drug-related problems was 9.2%. Pharmacists' age and number of years in practice were the most important factors influencing the pharmaceutical care services implementation. Conclusion: The study has shown the need to shed light on the proper implementation of pharmaceutical care while maintaining a trusting relationship with physicians