Diese Dissertation Untersucht die verschiedenen Strategie- und Aktionsbündel der Protestbewegungsgruppen, um ihre Ziele für Jordanien während des Arabischen Frühlings zu erreichen. Der Fokus dieser Arbeit liegt dabei auf drei Protestbewegungen, die in diesem Zeitraum im Königreich agierten: die Free Assembly, die Liberation National Social Group und Sadaqa. Mein besonderes Augenmerk gilt der Fragestellung, inwiefern gruppeneigene Ressourcen, ihre Nähe zum Regime, politisches Framing und die Beurteilung politischer Opportunität ihren Verlauf geprägt haben. Basierend auf einer mehr als neunmonatigen Feldforschung und einer gleichzeitig teilnehmenden Beobachtung innerhalb einer der genannten drei Protestgruppen zwischen 2011 und 2013, stelle ich fest, dass sich die Entwicklungsstadien der Gruppen im selben autoritär geprägten Kontext voneinander unterscheiden. Während ich festgestellt habe, dass die Entstehung beziehungsweise die Mobilisierung aller drei Gruppen zu just diesem Zeitpunkt in den regionalen Ereignissen des Arabischen Frühlings begründet sind, bin ich auch der Ansicht, dass dieser regionale Faktor die Entwicklungsverläufe dieser Gruppen nur teilweise erklärt. Vielmehr gilt, dass der Werdegang der Protestgruppen in Jordanien in örtlichen Bedingungen sowohl eingebettet, als auch stark mit ihnen verflochten ist. Namentlich sind diese lokale sozioökonomische Klassenhierarchien, Spannungen zwischen der städtischen und dörflichen Bevölkerung, sowie die umstrittene Geschichte der palästinensischen Jordanier im Land. Diese vorherrschenden Umstände sind für die Analyse, wie die Gruppen ihre Ressourcen mobilisiert, ihre Agenden formuliert und mit der Regierung interagiert haben, um staatliche Unterstützung zu erhalten, von wesentlicher Bedeutung. / This dissertation examines the trajectories, or the culmination of strategies and actions that protest groups take toward achieving their intended goals during the Arab Spring in Jordan. I focus on three protest groups in the kingdom during this time period: The Free Assembly, the Liberation National Social Group, and Sadaqa. I specifically look at how each groups’ resources, regime links, framing, and assessment of political opportunity shaped its trajectory. Based on over nine months of fieldwork as well as participant observation within one of the three protest groups from 2011-2013, I find that the groups vary in their trajectories within the same authoritarian context. While I find that the regional events related to the Arab Spring explain why all three groups formed or mobilized at the time they did, I find this regional factor only partially explains the trajectories of these groups. Rather, the trajectories of protest groups in Jordan are also embedded and tied to local circumstances, namely: local socioeconomic class hierarchies, tensions between urban and local populations, and the contentious history of Palestinian-Jordanians in the country. These local circumstances are critical in shaping how the groups mobilized their resources, framed their agendas, and interacted with the regime in ways that allowed them to gain public support.

In a populated region with very high potential evapotranspiration, where the rainwater falls only during the winter and mostly in the mountains, the need for sustainable water management and fair distribution is crucial. In the West Bank, Palestine, the main potable water source is a karst mountain aquifer system. Precipitation occurs usually in the form of rainfall in the mountainous regions during winter period and recharges the groundwater systems. The water either reaches the surface as spring water, or is extracted through pumped wells. But the scarcity of drinking water in Palestine is not due to lack of water resources or technical knowledge of water extraction but a direct consequence of Israeli policies, water management, breached water rights and the occupation of Palestinian territories. Because of such restrictions, ground water is not an option to provide more freshwater, instead it is suggested to collect rainwater runoff in reservoirs. In 2011, the first surface water dam was built in Palestine in Al Auja, just north of Ariha. It was built as an experimental project for future dams and is therefore a small earth fill dam which will be expanded to collect water also from an adjacent watershed, much larger than the current one. The purpose of this study is to determine how much bigger the reservoir needs to be to safely store the inflowing rainwater runoff in the future. This was achieved through hydrological modelling using the HEC-HMS software which is a physical based model. The data used in this study were: 25 m DEM, land use data, soil data (both from remote sense and field visit), river network map, precipitation data, location of the gauges and geological formations. Field visits and soil tests were also great contributions of insights and knowledge crucial for the project. Hourly time-series data for precipitation for the winters 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 and monthly evapotranspiration for 2010-2011 were used as input to the model. Water level data in Al Uja reservoir with 20 minutes intervals were used to evaluate the simulations. Simulations were first optimized for the current scenario to find sets of parameters that match the changes in water level in the dam reservoir. This was done both for single rainfall events as well as for the whole seasons. The parameters creating the most matching results were used in additional simulations with the adjacent watershed included. The difference in results between the simulations with the current watershed and the expanded one was used to answer how much more water the reservoir would have received during 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 if the larger watershed were included. The model results reveal that the reservoir should have been able to hold about three times as much water as today. Installation of an inflow meter is suggested for the future along with an evaluation of local climate change in precipitation and evapotranspiration.

Le but de ce travail de recherche est de démontrer que la ré-exploitation des matériaux locaux de construction dans la vallée du Jourdain, peut contribuer à une autonomie des communautés rurales palestiniennes. Pour ce faire, cette thèse questionne le développement de la filière terre dans ces territoires. Nous posons l’hypothèse qu’il existe un lien étroit entre les transformations de la société rurale, de sa structure économique et politique, et les transformations de la filière constructive en terre. ‘Trois temps’ de cette filière ont été relevés et ont permis de vérifier cette hypothèse. Le cas de la Palestine avant 1920, l’habitat en terre crue entre 1920 et 1970 et finalement la situation actuelle. Ces évolutions nous ont permis de comprendre que la ré-exploitation des matériaux locaux permet une véritable autonomie lorsque la filière est intégrée aux pratiques économiques et sociales en cours. Cette idée a été vérifiée par l’étude du contexte actuel où la filière est en reconstruction temporaire car déconnectée des pratiques sociales et économiques. Ce travail de recherche se divise en trois parties, à l’image de ces ‘trois temps’. La première détaille la relation entre la filière terre et la notion de développement durable pour faire le lien ensuite au cas de la Palestine avant 1920. La seconde précise le changement de valeurs qui s’est opéré entre 1920 et 1970 dans la société rurale et les transformations de l’habitat qui y sont liées. Enfin, la dernière partie tente d’évaluer la reconstruction de cette filière en détaillant le contexte politique et économique actuel pour le confronter ensuite aux actions des nouveaux acteurs sur le terrain. / This research aims to demonstrate that the re-use of local building materials in the Jordan Valley can contribute to the autonomy of rural Palestinian communities. To achieve this, we question the evolution of the earthen building sector in these territories. We assume that there is a close link between the transformations of the rural society, its economic and political structure and the transformations that appeared in the earthen building sector. Three historical periods have been identified and have verified this hypothesis: the case of Palestine before 1920, the period between 1920 and 1970 and finally the current situation. Through these evolutions, we understood that the re-use of local materials allows real autonomy when the earthen building sector is integrated to the ongoing social and economic practices. This idea was verified by studying the current context where this building sector knows a temporary reconstruction. This research is divided into three parts. The first part details the relation that exists between earthen architecture and the concept of sustainable development; we will be explaining the case of Palestine before 1920. The second part specifies the changing values of rural society that have taken place between 1920 and 1970 and the transformations of the habitat linked to it. Finally, the last section attempts to assess the reconstruction of this building sector by detailing the current political and economic context and confronting it with the projects led by the “new actors” on the ground.

This study aims to close the gap in the literature on religious minority groups in the Arab Middle East by examining how religion has shaped belief systems and social identities in religious minorities in Jordan. Additionally, the study also examines the role of familial structures and their sphere of influence in society. Previous research has predominantly focused on the religious majority and has usually been examined through quantitative data. By means of semi-structured interviews, the findings indicate how foundational religion is perceived to be in shaping belief systems and social identities in individuals and shows strong dependencies on the family system which governs individual behavior. These findings contribute to the research field on religious minority groups in the Arab Middle East, which has not received sufficient attention, providing insight into how religious minorities attribute meaning to the world around them.

The purpose of this research is to provide a better understanding of the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and innovation. This research responds to calls in the literature on HRM and innovation to consider a wider number of HRM practices that have previously been neglected and are likely to produce a positive impact on innovation awareness and commitment (Shipton et al., 2006; Zhao et al., 2012). Therefore, the research is concerned with a wide number of HRM practices and their impact on innovation awareness and commitment. The underpinning rationale is that while previous studies have revealed that HRM practices can be significant for innovation, these studies are not inclusive, and the research is still scant and in its early stages as there has been a lack of consideration of a comprehensive range of HRM practices (Shipton et al., 2006). In simple terms, previous studies have looked at the relationship between HRM practices and innovation based on a limited number of practices and at the macro or inter-organisational level. Therefore, the fundamental contribution of this thesis is the shift in perspective. While previous research has looked at a limited number of HRM practices that largely appear to be borrowed from high-performance work systems (HPWs), this thesis considers a wider range of practices that can impact on innovation at the intra-organisational level – more specifically, to study employees’ perceptions of HRM practices that may promote innovation awareness and commitment. Innovation awareness and commitment refers to the extent to which the organisation is engaged in innovation. Degree of innovativeness and the open innovation approach are studied in this research, to determine whether HRM practices can impact on radical or incremental open innovation. Additionally, departmental differences are considered in this thesis: that is whether employees in different departments have different perceptions of the extent to which HRM practices promote innovation’. To this end, the data set was obtained from two research phases. A quantitative survey was distributed to 280 employees in a Jordanian telecommunications company. Findings from the first phase of the research indicated a number of new HRM practices that were not recognised by previous studies. This research found a positive impact of HRM practices in promoting innovation, as perceived by employees. HPWs, HRM hygiene factors, motivation and communication were perceived by employees to promote innovation in their organisation. The results show that the relationship between HRM practices and innovation is perceived by employees to promote the origins of innovation, specifically open innovation and radical innovation. No support was found for expectations and sharing information to promote innovation. Phase two of the research consisted of semi-structured interviews conducted with senior managers and employees in the same company that participated in phase one. In phase two of the research, the interviews provided better insights and explanations of the results and findings from the survey questionnaire. The results from phase two confirmed the findings from the statistical analysis, and a distinctive finding was the differences between managers’ and employees’ perceptions of HRM practices. Employees identified or perceived practices that are related to their performance and that enable them to develop their levels of motivation and commitment. Managers identified practices that work in the favour of the organisation, with less focus on employee needs. This was clear when comparing which practices and indications were mentioned by managers and employees. It is worth mentioning here that, given the relatively close conceptualisation in the literature that innovation is a form of organisational performance, this thesis does not intend to rebrand ‘performance’ as ‘innovation’ per se. This is especially in this research as it seeks to understand the relationship between HRM practices and innovation by looking at employees’ perceptions of HRM practices that may promote innovation and cause their company to be perceived as an innovative workplace. This research is probably the first attempt to study the role of a comprehensive list of HRM practices in influencing innovation by considering employees’ perceptions of HRM practices that may promote innovation. Moreover, the intra-organisational level was considered, along with departments, degree of innovativeness (radical-incremental innovation) and types of innovation approach (open vs closed).

Denna uppsats har som syfte att undersöka de teologiska aspekterna av människans sexuella begär. Genom en poetisk-filosofisk analys av Alina Reyes erotiska novell Slaktaren och 1300-tals mystikern Julian av Norwichs bok Uppenbarelser av den gudomliga kärleken ämnar uppsatsen belysa relevanta teologiska teman och frågeställningar gällande sexualitetens koppling till teologin och talet om eros som begärets gudomliga ursprung. Studien syftar också till att utforska hur de teman om sexuellt begär som framträder genom denna analys kan anses korrelera med de samtida teologerna Carter Heyward och Ola Sigurdsons syn på sexualiteten. Som ett teoretiskt ramverk används fem hypoteser gällande sexualitet som är hämtade från Mark D. Jordans resonemang i boken The Ethics of Sex. / The purpose of this essay is to examine the theological aspects of human sexual desire. Through a poetic-philosophical analysis of Alina Reye's erotic novel The Butcher and 14th Century Mystic Julian of Norwich's book Revelations of the Divine Love, the essay aims to shed light on relevant theological themes and issues concerning sexuality's connection to theology and the talk of eros as the divine origin of desire. The study also aims to explore how the themes of sexual desire that emerge through this analysis can be considered to correlate with the contemporary theologians Carter Heyward and Ola Sigurdson's views on sexuality. As a theoretical framework, five hypotheses regarding sexuality are used, which are taken from Mark D. Jordan's reasoning in the book The Ethics of Sex.

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Jordan is one of the countries in the Middle East where “honour culture” is a part of the Jordanian society. “Honour culture” is often accused of leading to honour killings. While there are several studies on honour and femininity in the Middle East, there are less research done on masculinity and young men in the region. Women are often the victims and researchers tend to have the focus on them, but what about the young men who grow up in the Jordanian society? This study was conducted in Amman, Jordan, to explore how young men live and define honour. During the months of October, November, and December 2021, 12 Jordanian and Palestinian men living in Amman were interviewed, whereas most of them grew up outside the capital. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and observations. As a result of phenomenological analysis of the material, common themes and meanings were identified. There are two different types of honour within the Jordanian society according to my findings: Sharaf and ́ird. Sharaf is what the participants define as their manhood because it makes you a righteous man and a better person. ́ird is what the participants associate with the Jordanian society ́s view on honour and is being described as a conservative and traditional way of thinking. ́ird is what the participants are taking distance from in the interviews, but it is discussed how accurate this is. In the patriarchal Jordanian society, it seems to be sharp gender-roles where each gender has different obligations and expectations, which is created by the society and taught trough life trajectories. As honour is a controversial and sensitive topic, this study provides a nuanced and understanding of gender roles, family structures, and masculinity behind the tradition, as well as the feelings and opinions of those involved.