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This study is phase two of a two-phase research effort designed to describe the role of the academic department chairperson in the public universities of Jordan and to develop a systematic, formal process for evaluating the performance of this position. The purpose of this phase (phase II) was to develop an evaluation model for the academic chairperson's performance that can be used in the public universities of Jordan. In phase I, the actual and the ideal role expectations were identified through interviews with deans, chairpersons, and faculty members in Jordan public universities during Summer, 1992. These expectations were profiled and used as the basis for phase II research. / Ph. D.

This study is phase one of a two-phase research effort designed to develop a systematic, formal process for evaluating the performance of department chairpersons in public universities in Jordan. In this phase, the role of the department chairperson was reviewed and analyzed. Interviews were conducted with five academic deans, ten chairpersons, and five faculty members. Both actual and ideal role expectations were identified. These role expectations will become the basis for phase II, which will be an evaluation of the performance of department chairpersons in the public universities of Jordan. / Master of Arts

The parallel development of archaeology and Quaternary geology in several regions of the world is reviewed, and common problems in dating and correlating alluvial sequences are discussed. Buried archaeological remains and radiometric dates provide a chronological framework for the sequence of Late Quaternary alluvial deposits in the central Jordan Rift. While previous studies emphasized a simple, two-stage model of Late Quaternary alluvial deposition, regional comparisons of the geomorphological contexts of archaeological sites of different ages indicate complex, multiple depositional and erosional cycles. These cycles were influenced by tectonism, climatic changes, human land use, and natural geomorphic thresholds, sometimes in combination. The stratigraphy and chronology of early agricultural settlements in the valley are summarized, and investigations at a protohistoric agricultural town are described. Major regional shifts in prehistoric and protohistoric patterns of agriculture and settlement are interpreted in terms of the impacts of changes in alluvial regimes. These correlations have implications for models of agricultural origins, and the stability and resilience of sedentary settlements in dry lands.

In developing natural resources, decision makers are seeking to achieve different objectives, which cannot be reduced to a single objective such as economic efficiency, this covers only part of the problem. Tradeoffs between multiple objective of unequal importance is unavoidable in the process of selection or ranking of alternative developmental projects or plans. Multiobjective technique has the ability to deal with qualitative and quantitative objectives, also it enhances the planning process by involving broader segments of the society in the process of decision making. Compromise programming (CP) and utility worth analysis (UWA), two multiobjective methods were applied on Zarqa River Basin Project (ZRBP) in Jordan. Their appropriateness and suitability as decision aiding tools was examined in this study. For the purpose of the study, five criteria were developed to serve as a basis for the evaluation and 61 farmers and 15 technicians, planners and decision makers were interviewed. High consistency was observed among the results of ranking the six alternatives when both methods were applied, at the same time the ranking of the alternatives according to benefit/cost ratio and the internal rates of return as economic efficiency measures showed no agreement with the multiobjective ranking.

The problem of this study concerned the relationship between the academic achievement of students in Jordan state universities and the socioeconomic status (SES) of their families. A survey composed of questions regarding demographics, SES background, cultural factors, and accumulated grade point average (GPA) was administered by four Jordanian professors in four state universities in Jordan. Of the 620 surveys made, there were 609 usable surveys analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Science SPSS/PC+. Data were sorted so that families' SES variables, namely fathers' and mothers' income, occupation, and education, and students' GPA were identified on a 9-point ordinal scale. Pearson's chi-square was used to determine whether relationships existed between parents' SES and with students' GPA. Spearman's correlation was also used to determine the direction and strength of the relationships. The same data were then compressed from 9 to a 3-point ordinal scale and were used to determine the relationship between studendts' GPA and their parents1 SES. For this purpose a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used. Five additional related questions concerned relationship between degree of religious commitment of parents, number of siblings, parents' kinship, parents1 educational aspiration, and reason for parents' educational aspiration, and students' GPA were identified on a 4-point ordinal scale and also tested using the one-way ANOVA, the Tukey/Kramer method, and the Eta coefficient.

Improvement in information communication technology (ICT) is one of the factors behind growth in economic productivity. A major dimension of this is the use of the Internet in e-commerce, allowing companies to collect, store, and exchange personal information obtained from visitors to their websites. Electronic commerce has many different variants, and is believed by many governments throughout the world to be the engine of economic stability in the future. While electronic commerce has many benefits, there is evidence to suggest privacy concerns are an inhibitor to its adoption in Jordan and the UK. According to Campbell (1997, p.45), privacy in this context can be defined as “the ability of individuals to determine the nature and extent of information about them which is being communicated to others”. The importance of information in e-commerce has increased, because the main success factor for the completion of transactions between businesses and consumers is the companies’ ability to access consumers’ personal details. This conflicts with the consumers’ fear of providing personal information to un-trusted parties, which makes them disinterested in entering contracts via the internet. This research discusses privacy concerns as an inhibitor for electronic commerce by providing a comparison between UK and Jordanian regulations, to establish the impact that these regulations have ameliorating privacy concerns regarding the development of electronic commerce in Jordan and the UK. The interpretive grounded theory approach has allowed the researcher to gain a deep understanding about privacy perceptions of electronic commerce held by the main stakeholders: government, businesses and consumers. Furthermore, through implementing the Straussian grounded theory approach as a data collection and analysis method, two grounded theories have emerged as giving deeper understanding of the situation in Jordan and the UK regarding privacy concerns and how this affects electronic commerce development in both countries.

This thesis analyses the content of three Arab satellite television talk shows and their reception by women in Jordan. It aims to assess the role of talk shows in the Arab public sphere by engaging with different conceptualisations and criticisms of the public sphere theory, starting with Habermas (1989) influential work. The thesis argues that once the criticisms of the criteria that underpin Habermas original theory are taken into consideration, and alternative conceptualisations by different traditions of democratic theory are considered, contemporary popular media genres like talk shows can be re-evaluated for their role in the public sphere. The thesis aligns itself with conceptualisations of the public sphere as an on-going and continuous process, rather than a concluded state, and argues through the analysis that this process transpires and continues in different contexts, within and beyond the media. Through its theoretical and empirical engagement, the thesis hopes to contribute to research on Arab television genres and its audiences, and their implications for investigations of the Arab public sphere. The thesis employs a multi-method approach to analyse the three talk shows Kalam Nawaem [Soft talk], Ahmar Bel Khat Al Areed [In Bold Red] and Sireh Winfatahet [An Open Case] and their audiences as two contexts where engagements with the public sphere continually take place. First, it uses thematic analysis to examine the content of the talk shows in terms of the issues they discuss and their relation to the Arab public sphere. Second, it also uses formal analysis to examine the structural features of the shows in order to demonstrate how these aspects collaborate to further shape the function of these shows in the public sphere. Third, the thesis analyses the audience research conducted through focus groups with women in Jordan, in order to study audiences perceptions of these shows and their role in the public sphere. The thesis proposes different ways in which these shows discussions can be consequential to the Arab public sphere, and the ways in which these transnational shows and discussions are watched and deciphered by audiences at a national level. Finally, the thesis reflects back on what it has achieved, its methodological limitations and alternatives, as well as future work that can be pursued on this topic.

Energy is essential to economic prosperity and quality of life. However it can have detrimental effects on the environment if not used properly. Moreover, if energy resources are scarce in a given country, then its use will impose economic and financial burdens on the national economy. The cement industry is energy-intensive, which adds a micro dimension to the macro issues mentioned above. Reducing energy consumption without due consideration to production requirements is not an optimal situation. What is needed is to arrive at a situation whereby energy is used rationally. The concept of rational use of energy has two embedded principles. The first is increased energy-use efficiency and the second is environmental protection. Jordan Cement Factories (JCF), located in a developing country where energy resources are not indigenously available and, therefore, costly energy requirements are imported, have realised the importance of addressing the energy management and conservation issues. This thesis describes the efforts initiated and conducted by the author, to address the research problem of improving energy usage through the application of effective management techniques aimed at reducing energy consumption per unit of cement produced. This present research has been concerned with energy management and efficient use of energy. The Jordan Cement Factories were used as a vehicle to demonstrate the proposed research methodology that aimed at improving energy consumption and thus operational efficiency. The methodology is based on establishing statistically significant relationships between interacting problem factors, and assessing the economic impact of improving these factors. Economic evaluation entailed the development of economic models and an application methodology combined with illustrative case studies. Consequently, the problem of energy management has been presented in a wider perspective that addressed the whole management system at the organisation. Towards that end, it was first necessary to show the significance of energy cost with respect to the overall manufacturing costs. The analysis of production costs, which demonstrated the significance of energy costs, was followed by the investigation and examination of the basic management factors that have direct impact on energy consumption at the JCF. Among these factors are, for instance, production line availability, production rate, average number of stoppages, and average duration of stoppages. These factors were determined using preliminary data analysis and the experience and technical knowledge of the researcher. The statistical analysis proved the existence of strong relationships between energy consumption and management factors. Several models were developed for a set of selected production lines, in the JFC at Fuhais and Rashadiya plants. These statistical models were generated using actual data for electrical energy and fuel consumption. The derived models have demonstrated the existence of strong relationships between energy consumption and management control factors; for instance, the values of R2 range from 60% to 90%. This implies that an equivalent percentage of the variations in energy consumption can be attributed to the selected management factors. The economic model developed in this research is concerned with demonstrating that effective management practices associated with proper maintenance and housekeeping can result in highly significant savings in energy usage. Although a simplistic methodology was used to evaluate the economic impact of any improvement programme, the economic treatment showed that the cost of improvement is actually negligible compared to the realisable savings in energy usage. The research has dealt with the details of developing a coherent energy management model whose objective is to establish transformational management processes of certain high-level management factors into daily operations and controls. The high-level management .factors are the same factors used as independent variables in the statistical and economic models, which statistically proved to be the major factors affecting the energy consumption at JCF. The research has also presented a detailed analysis of the organisational and procedural aspects of energy management with concentration on management functions, especially planning, controlling, executing, organising, and auditing. A detailed mapping and analysis of these functions as the main components of an Energy Management System (EMS) resulted in establishing job descriptions, organisational charts, work instructions and procedures for all-important functions of the EMS. The type of work described in this thesis could be extrapolated for application in other industries, particularly energy-intensive ones, to arrive at the objective of rational use of energy at the national and international levels. Comprehensive studies would need to be carried out for each type of industry prior to implementation. The cost benefit analysis presented in this research proved, beyond any doubt, the importance of implementing the EMS in JCF. As a result of this implementation it is demonstrated that huge annual savings were realised. Finally, as a result of improving energy control factors, introducing energy conservation measures and employing management techniques at JCF to guarantee the effectiveness of all such activities, resulted in an annual savings amount to about USS 3.5 million. Therefore, if the same or similar actions are undertaken by all cement, or other highly energy intensive industries then the savings could reach billions of dollars.