The impact of corporate characteristics on social and environmental disclosure (CSED):the case of Jordan

The corporate business environment is surrounded by strong public scrutiny from diverse stakeholder groups that are calling on businesses to accept accountability for not only their financial actions, but also the non-financial implications of their activities. Many corporate businesses are today paying attention to the needs of their stakeholders of social and environmental information. As such, in this study we examined how corporate characteristics could influence the amount of Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure (CSED) in the manufacturing sector in Jordan. Firm size, profitability, audit firm, ownership, type of industry and financial market level are the main factors examined in this study. Drawing from Ernst and Ernst methodology, the study developed a disclosure index to measure the amount of CSED for three years (2010, 2011 and 2012). Using panel data regression, we model the relationship between disclosure amount and the key drivers of CSED via random effect estimation. The results of our model indicated that the firm size, type of audit firm and financial performance in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) are significantly associated with the amount of CSED. On the other hand, we also find that firm profitability, age, type of industry and ownership are not related to the practices of CSED

Educational and Behavioral Disparities among Kindergarten Children and their Peers Who did not enroll in it from the Point of View of the First Grade Teachers in the Light of Some Variables

This study aims to know the educational and behavioral differences between kindergarten children and their friends who did not enrolled in kindergarten from point of view of first grade teachers, the total sample of the study consist of 58 first grade teachers. to achieve the goals of the study the analytical descriptive approach  has been used, tool of the study has been developed by the researcher consisting 43 items distributed into four areas were checked by specialist professors. Results indicated that there are educational and behavioral differences in favor of the students who attend the kindergarten, which is presents the important of kindergarten stage Keywords: differences, kindergarten, educational, behavioral. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-4-1

The Psychological, Behavioral and Emotional Effects on the Children at the First Three Grades in the Schools of Al Za'tari Camp for Syrian Refugees from the Teachers' Viewpoint

The present study aimed to reveal the psychological and behavioral effects of the children in the first three grades in the schools of Za'tari camp for Syrian refugees as a result of wars from the point of view of male and female teachers in the light of some variables. The study used the descriptive analytical method, where the study scale, which is the scale of recognition to estimate the psychological, behavioral and emotional effects on the children of the first three grades in the Za'tari camp for Syrian refugees from the point of view of male and female teachers, the questionnaire consisted of (65) subjects listed according to the Likert (high, medium and low) on the sample consisted of (118) male and female teachers it was of them (56 male teachers and 62 female teachers). The results of the study revealed that the psychological, behavioral and emotional effects on the children of the first three grades of the Syrian refugees in the schools of Zaatari camp as a result of the wars, came high, and that the emotional field came in the first rank, followed in the second rank the behavioral field. As the results showed that there are no statistical differences in the fields of psychological, behavioral and emotional effects, of the sample individuals due to gender and scientific qualification variables. While statistical differences were observed between the average estimates of sample members on all areas of psychological behavioral and emotional effects due to the variable years of experience for the benefit of individuals with experience of more than (10) years. Keywords: Behavioral psychological effects, Emotional Psychological effects, first three grades, Za'tari Camp, Syrian refugees

Development of a novel submerged membrane electro-bioreactor for wastewater treatment

The principle objectives of this research were to design and investigate a novel approach to generate an excellent quality effluent, while minimizing the size of the treatment unit and energy consumption. To achieve these objectives a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor (SMEBR) was designed and its performance was investigated. Membrane processes, electrokinetic phenomena, and biological processes take place simultaneously leading to the control of the problem of membrane fouling which has been considered one of the major challenges to widespread application of membrane bioreactor technology. This design is the first attempt to combine electrokinetic principles, using electro-coagulation (EC) processes and submerged membrane bioreactor in one reactor vessel. Both water quantity and quality were monitored through different experimental phases to verify the feasibility of the SMEBR system for wastewater treatment under various operating conditions. Firstly, a preliminary experimental phase was conducted on a small-scale electro-bioreactor (without the operation of the membrane module) to identify the best electrokinetic conditions in terms of the appropriate current density so as not to impede the biological treatment, and to determine the best exposure time of DC when it should be applied intermittently in the SMEBR system. DC field of 1 V/cm with an operational mode of 15 minutes ON/45 minutes OFF of DC power supply were found to be the adequate electrical conditions to operate the SMEBR system. Two different anode materials--iron and aluminum--were used to validate the SMEBR system for wastewater treatment. At the operating mode of 15 minutes ON/45 minutes OFF, the applied DC field in the SMEBR system enhanced the membrane filterability up to 16.6% and 21.3% using iron and aluminum electrodes respectively. However, the significant improvement in membrane filterability was 52.5% when using an aluminum anode at an operational mode of 15 minutes ON/105 minutes OFF, which indicated that the operational mode of DC supply is a key parameter in the operation of a SMEBR system. In terms of pollutants removal, the overall removal efficiency for COD was greater than 96% and greater than 98% for phosphorus. In conjunction, the removal of NH 3 -N was on average 70%. It should be emphasized that the phosphorous removal efficiency was higher than other studies on MBR without the use of electrokinetics. Furthermore, the effluent of the SMEBR treatment, using synthetic wastewater, had no color and no odor. The designed SMEBR system may find a direct application in the treatment of various wastewaters, including sewage, without an extensive pretreatment. Such a solution is required by several small municipalities, mining areas, agriculture facilities, military bases, and in cold regions. Finally, such a compact hybrid system can easily be adapted to a mobile uni

Clayey soil amendment by hydrophilic nano bentonite for landfill cover barrier: a case study

Methane and carbon dioxide are of major concern as greenhouse gases; the landfills have the problem of controlling these gases. Al Akaider in Jordan is the second biggest landfill suffers controlling gases as it lacks a cover design system. In this work, the main goal is to investigate the appropriateness of amended expansive clayey soil in Irbid as a cover barrier. The expansive soil is unwanted in construction projects, thus the modification of this expelled soil enables using it as a low cost landfill cover barrier. In this research, the effect of adding nano-clay material (Hydrophilic Nano Bentonite) on the geotechnical characteristics, hydraulic conductivity, and gas transport coefficients of the clayey soil are studied. The soil samples were obtained from Irbid city. Unconfined compressive strength and free swelling tests were performed on soil samples with different percentages of nano-clay added in the range (0.1% to 1.2%) by weight. The results indicated that the addition of nano-clay at low percentages increases the strength of expansive soil up to 315 kPa at 0.6% of nano-clay and the swelling potential decreased dramatically with the addition of nano-clay. The optimal percent of nano-clay was found to be 0.6%. The intrinsic permeability of the amended soil was 6.03×10–15 m2. The average values of fluid transport coefficients were determined at 25 °C. The hydraulic conductivity for water was about 6.5×10–10 m/s. Gas conductivity coefficients for CO2 and CH4 were 5×10–9 m/s and 2.5×10–9 m/s respectively. Gas diffusion coefficients for CO2 and CH4 were 3×10–6 m2/s and 4×10–6 m2/s respectively. The results obtained in this research showed compatibility with standards conducted on geosynthetic clay liner (GCL), consequently the amended Irbid soil investigated, can be used as a cover barrier in Al Akaider landfill. These findings can also be generalized to landfills with similar conditions

Does Institutional Context Affect CSR Disclosure? A Study on Eurostoxx 50

We propose to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure and institutional/environmental factors among a sample of European listed companies. We find that, by using several traditional explicative variables, institutional factors affect the level of CSR disclosure, in a context where the EU Commission has been paying growing attention to social and environmental accountability of listed companies (see the EU Dir. 95/2014). Our findings are further supported by multivariate regression, where ESG score (measure of CSR disclosure) is regressed on nine variables which represent the expression of institutional factors. By looking at the institutional determinants of CSR disclosure, we are seeking to pose a challenge for future research agenda, in order to understand whether CSR does actually reflect an effective commitment of firms to accounting practices and rules, as a form of social behavior, or whether it is just a tool to manage stakeholders’ perception and to comply with regulation

ZnO Nano-swirlings for Azo Dye AR183 photocatalytic degradation and antimycotic activity

The sol-gel technique was used to fabricate ZnO Nano-swirlings (ZNsw) at a predetermined agitation rate (of \u3e\u3e 1900 rpm), with around 21.94 gm of zinc acetate dihydrate and 0.2 g cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) and a cationic surfactant (drop-wise). The impact of the predetermined agitation condition on the molecular size and morphology of ZNsw is examined, and the outcomes are dissected by useful characterization tools and techniques viz. XRD, SEM embedded with EDS, TEM, FT-IR and UV–visible. The SEM and TEM results suggest that the product formed into a big cluster of adequate ZNsw, containing a significant quantity of folded long thread-lengths. Each group indicated a fair amount of the volume of these lengths. The photocatalytic process of ZNsw was carried out as a result of the irradiation time due to the deterioration of Azo Dye AR183, resulting in approximately 79 percent dye discoloration following an 80-min UV light irradiation in the presence of ZNsw. Additionally, the synthesized ZNsw was tested for antagonistic activity, and the growth hindrance of two plant pathogenic fungal strains found. Per cent inhibition in growth of Rhizoctonia solani and Alternaria alternata were observed in response to ZNsw

Environmental evolution of the Deba estuary (Basque Coast Geopark) during the Holocene and Anthropocene

RESUMEN: Se han estudiado las asociaciones de foraminíferos de dos sondeos largos y uno corto en el estuario del Deba con el fin de realizar la interpretación ambiental de su registro sedimentario. Adicionalmente, se han llevado a cabo análisis geoquímicos en el sondeo corto, y análisis microfaunísticos y geoquímicos en ocho muestras superficiales tomadas a lo largo del estuario. Los resultados han permitido la reconstrucción de sus ambientes sedimentarios durante el Holoceno y el Antropoceno. El registro holoceno está principalmente controlado por el ascenso relativo del nivel marino, mientras que las muestras superficiales y el sondeo corto muestran la influencia antropogénica en los sedimentos más recientes.ABSTRACT: Benthic foraminiferal assemblages of two long boreholes and one short core drilled in the Deba estuary were studied for environmental interpretation of its sedimentary record. Additional geochemical analyses in the short core, together with the microfaunal and geochemical analysis of eight surface samples along the estuary were also performed. The results allow for the reconstruction of the Deba estuary environment during the Holocene and Anthropocene. The Holocene record is mainly controlled by the relative sea-level rise, whereas the surface samples and the short core exhibit human influence in the most recent sediments.Trabajo financiado por los proyectos Antropicosta (CGL2013-41083-P), Harea-Grupo de Investigación en Geología Litoral (IT976-16) y Estuarios del Geoparque de la Costa Vasca (US13/02). Francisco Fatela (Universidade de Lisboa) y un/a revisor/a anónimo/a mejoraron la versión original de este trabajo con sus indicaciones. Contribución nº 49 de la Unidad de Investigación Geo-Q Zentroa (Laboratorio Joaquín Gómez de Llarena). N. El Bani Altuna ha estado financiada por la beca no. 223259 para Centros de Excelencia del Consejo de Investigación Noruego