Among the many promises of the revolution in the information and communication technologies (ICT), particularly the Internet, continues to be its potential to significantly transform governments around the world. This transformation is referred to as e-government or web-based government, often used interchangeably in most of the IS literature. Despite these however, the level of adoption and use of such innovation is still low and does not meet expectations in developing countries in general and Jordan in particular. Yet, existing research on the adoption and implementation of e-government in developing countries is still lacking explanatory power for the following reasons: 1) focusing either on the supply-side, or on the demand-side separately to study the adoption and implementation of e-government, and therefore there is no enough research on the integration between them as a single phenomenon, and 2) focusing on the results of previous research, and therefore not to develop theories fit the new context to be investigated to understand the relationship between the IT implementation and social structures in the same context. This research aims to fill these gaps through the use of a holistic approach to enable in-depth understanding and gain valuable insights on the adoption and implementation of e-government from multiple perspectives, and in the real context of a developing country, namely Jordan. This would reduce the gap between government strategies and policies related to implementation of e-government services and applications on the one hand, and perceptions of citizens on the other hand, allowing a better understanding of the needs of citizens and the priorities that must be taken into account by governments in order to ensure the success of such projects on a large scale. Through two phases, this research proposes and empirically tests an integrated model of the determinants of adoption and implementation of e-government services and applications in Jordan. The first phase employs a grounded theory methodology for the development of the research model, as well as the survey instruments necessary to test the model. The second phase employs a survey questionnaire to test the research model using multivariate and SEM with the results demonstrating support for the proposed model. The empirical results indicate that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and the security of e-government systems are no longer among the main determinants that affect the decision to adopt and implement e-government services and applications in this particular context. This confirms that the prevailing models and theories on the adoption of IT do not apply equally to the context of developing countries such as Jordan, and thus do not explain and predict behaviour toward the adoption and implementation of e-government services and applications in the same context. There is a direct and positive relationship between citizen involvement in the change process towards e-government and the decision to adopt and implement e-government services and applications. There is also a strong positive relationship between the decision to adopt and implement e-government services and applications and the decision to use such services and applications within the same context. Unexpectedly, the prevailing sociocultural determinants indicate a direct and positive relationship with the decision to adopt and implement e-government services and applications in the same context. Also, the results indicate direct and negative relationships between citizen trust and website design issues with the decision to adopt and implement e-government services and applications. Finally, the research concludes by highlighting the theoretical and practical implications, limitations and future directions.

This thesis offers a political geography of unconventional energy development through a study of a particular fossil fuel resource called oil shale. Having long occupied a critical place in the politics and economy of certain states, most notably in Estonia, oil shale is now widely known as an ‘unconventional’ resource that is yet to become technically possible, commercially viable and socially acceptable to exploit. Following the movement through which oil shale becomes both unconventional and conventional, the thesis traces the resource through a series of geo-scientific, economic and political interventions. This study is based on analysis of technical literature and policy documents along with ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and site visits conducted in Estonia, Colorado, Utah, Jordan, London and Brussels. Drawing together relational accounts of natural resources in political ecology and economic geography with insights from Science and Technology Studies, this project both contributes to critical research on the carbon economy and to recent debates on the concepts of materiality, anticipation, and marketization in social sciences. The thesis proposes a relational conceptualization of resource materiality, situating oil shale in multiple and conflicting forms which derive from geographically disparate practices in both resource assessment and technological development. The future of oil shale exploitation is not pre-determined by the process of global resource decline, nor is it precluded by international demands to move towards lower-carbon futures. Rather, it is determined through the conjunction of different future-oriented economic and political calculations that are entangled with resource materials and associated technological systems. Developing a non-essentialist account of markets as socio-technically distributed arrangements, the thesis argues that these rival calculations influence the design of market rules for both energy and emissions trading. The thesis concludes that what counts as ‘unconventional’ is not given, but continues to be both created and contested at the same time as it is ‘conventionalized’.

Jordan due to its geographical location is located at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This fact significantly affects its domestic policy, foreign policy and economic development. An important aspect of Jordan's development is also the presence of Palestinians, who currently make up approximately half of the population. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the influence of internal and external factors on political and economic development of Jordan and especially on the formation of its foreign policy and then to assess the position of Jordan in actual international relations. Jordan's foreign policy is based on balancing between the relations with neighboring Arab states and the strategically important relationship with the Western powers, particularly the United States of America. Jordan is also a key participant in the Middle East peace process and is one of the few Arab countries that signed a peace treaty with Israel and maintains with Israel full diplomatic relations.

Phénomène tabou et peu étudié en droit pénal, le crime d'honneur au Moyen-Orient et dans le monde arabe ne cesse d'alimenter les unes de la presse dans le monde et de relever les antagonismes existant entre les juridictions occidentales et orientales. Souvent qualifié d'inhumain ou relevant de pratiques d'un autre âge, le phénomène du crime d'honneur figure en Jordanie parmi les crimes qui retiennent le plus l'attention publique. On estime qu'un homicide sur quatre est assimilable à ce crime, dans ce pays où l'honneur familial est considéré comme la clé de voûte de l'équilibre social. Toute menace à cet équilibre serait donc le signe d'une décadence à punir afin de rétablir l'ordre originel. Les circonstances du meurtre sont autant d’éléments qui génèrent condamnation ou indulgence de l’opinion publique et de la justice. La position délicate du législateur face au traitement des affaires de crimes d'honneur mérite des éclaircissements historico-culturels et un examen précis des résolutions et des recommandations internationales rendues à l'intention des juridictions jordaniennes. / As a taboo subject that has not been researched enough in the Criminal Law field, crime of honour in the Middle East and in Arab world continues to feed international press headlines and to raise up differences in views between Eastern and Western jurisdictions. Often described as inhuman or as a practice from another age, the phenomenon of honour killings appears among the crimes that attract the most public attention. In Jordan - where family honour is considered as the cornerstone of social balance - studies showed that one of four crimes is a crime of honour. Any threat to this social balance would be a sign of decadence to be punished in order to restore the original balance. The circumstances of honour murders are among elements that generate either conviction or indulgence from public and justice. The delicate legislature position to face up honour crime cases deserves cultural and historical clarifications and an accurate review of international resolutions and recommendations towards Jordan jurisdiction.

La quantification sur le cône de lumière est une méthode de quantification opérant dans la Front Form de Dirac et nécessitant une procédure de traitement des contraintes dynamiques. Elle est abordée dans le cas de deux théories scalaires. La théorie phi4 (1+1) est examinée à l'aide d'une formulation continue du développement de Haag des champs et des modes zéros (CLCQ). Ceci permet une résolution originale des équations du mouvement et des contraintes ainsi qu'une renormalisation consistante des divergences infrarouges et ultraviolettes. L'analyse de la transition de phase fait apparaître au deuxième ordre un couplage critique non perturbatif de valeur analogue aux résultats du quatrième ordre des méthodes conventionnelles. L'étude comparée du commutateur de Pauli-Jordan dans les formulations discrètes et continues montre que la violation de causalité n'est qu'un pur effet de taille finie associé à la soustraction du mode zéro dans les sommes discrètes. L'étude de la théorie phi4 (3+1) O(N) est amorcée par le calcul des champs et des modes zéros à l'ordre 3 du développement en 1/sqrt(N) qui permet de retrouver jusqu'à l'ordre 1/N^3 les fonctions de corrélation conventionnelles obtenues par intégrales de chemin.

By 2020, cancer mortality rates are estimated to increase by 180% in Arab countries, where breast cancer is the most common type of cancer. This thesis explores and evaluates the ‘asabiyya-driven structuration (the cohesive force of the group that gives it strength in facing its struggles for progressive reproduction) of cancer agents, government agents, and the World Health Organization agents for breast cancer prevention and early detection in the Arab region. The layers of the philosophical standing from Ibn Khaldûn’s concept of ‘asabiyya and the theoretical foundation of social systems theory, structuration theory, social network analysis, and social capital theory are peeled in order to explore and evaluate the context, constraints, social networks, autopoiesis, and social capital. Utilizing a qualitative research design, this thesis employs content analysis and in-depth interviews, as well as NVivo as a tool for analysis. Data is collected from 122 publications and knowledgeable informants employed by cancer agencies, ministries of health, and World Health Organization offices in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman. The findings are divided into the contextual scope of responsibility and resources, the progressive and hierarchal constraining structure, the optimal and weak social networks, the strong and vulnerable shields of autopoiesis, and the presence and absence of social capital momentum, followed by a discussion on the the struggle for structuration against breast cancer. The findings demonstrate that countries with a national cancer control program witness local strengthening ‘asabiyya and ‘asabiyya-driven structuration, while those without a national cancer control program witness weakening local ‘asabiyya. Ultimately, this thesis proposes strategic recommendations to accelerate the regional ‘asabiyya-driven structuration of breast cancer.

By 2020, cancer mortality rates are estimated to increase by 180% in Arab countries, where breast cancer is the most common type of cancer. This thesis explores and evaluates the ‘asabiyya-driven structuration (the cohesive force of the group that gives it strength in facing its struggles for progressive reproduction) of cancer agents, government agents, and the World Health Organization agents for breast cancer prevention and early detection in the Arab region. The layers of the philosophical standing from Ibn Khaldûn’s concept of ‘asabiyya and the theoretical foundation of social systems theory, structuration theory, social network analysis, and social capital theory are peeled in order to explore and evaluate the context, constraints, social networks, autopoiesis, and social capital. Utilizing a qualitative research design, this thesis employs content analysis and in-depth interviews, as well as NVivo as a tool for analysis. Data is collected from 122 publications and knowledgeable informants employed by cancer agencies, ministries of health, and World Health Organization offices in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman. The findings are divided into the contextual scope of responsibility and resources, the progressive and hierarchal constraining structure, the optimal and weak social networks, the strong and vulnerable shields of autopoiesis, and the presence and absence of social capital momentum, followed by a discussion on the the struggle for structuration against breast cancer. The findings demonstrate that countries with a national cancer control program witness local strengthening ‘asabiyya and ‘asabiyya-driven structuration, while those without a national cancer control program witness weakening local ‘asabiyya. Ultimately, this thesis proposes strategic recommendations to accelerate the regional ‘asabiyya-driven structuration of breast cancer.

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By 2020, cancer mortality rates are estimated to increase by 180% in Arab countries, where breast cancer is the most common type of cancer. This thesis explores and evaluates the ‘asabiyya-driven structuration (the cohesive force of the group that gives it strength in facing its struggles for progressive reproduction) of cancer agents, government agents, and the World Health Organization agents for breast cancer prevention and early detection in the Arab region. The layers of the philosophical standing from Ibn Khaldûn’s concept of ‘asabiyya and the theoretical foundation of social systems theory, structuration theory, social network analysis, and social capital theory are peeled in order to explore and evaluate the context, constraints, social networks, autopoiesis, and social capital. Utilizing a qualitative research design, this thesis employs content analysis and in-depth interviews, as well as NVivo as a tool for analysis. Data is collected from 122 publications and knowledgeable informants employed by cancer agencies, ministries of health, and World Health Organization offices in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman. The findings are divided into the contextual scope of responsibility and resources, the progressive and hierarchal constraining structure, the optimal and weak social networks, the strong and vulnerable shields of autopoiesis, and the presence and absence of social capital momentum, followed by a discussion on the the struggle for structuration against breast cancer. The findings demonstrate that countries with a national cancer control program witness local strengthening ‘asabiyya and ‘asabiyya-driven structuration, while those without a national cancer control program witness weakening local ‘asabiyya. Ultimately, this thesis proposes strategic recommendations to accelerate the regional ‘asabiyya-driven structuration of breast cancer.

Dans les pays en voie de développement, les politiques visent à augmenter les opportunités d'emploi afin d'élever les revenus et les niveaux de vie des populations. Parmi ces pays, les pays arabes de la région MENA ont récemment connu une vague de soulèvement populaire, faisant suite aux accroissements de la pauvreté, des inégalités et de l'exclusion, résultats des faibles performances du marché du travail. Comme l'analyse des flux est devenu l'outil de base de l'économie du travail moderne, cette thèse propose d'expliquer le fonctionnement de ces marchés du travail assez spécifiques, particulièrement ceux de l'Egypte et de la Jordanie, en utilisant la théorie de la recherche d'emploi. Elle se penche sur l'analyse des créations et destructions d'emploi ainsi que des mobilités entre emplois. Elle montre que ces marchés sont très rigides. L'impact de l'introduction des réformes structurelles, visant à flexibiliser l'emploi est ensuite discuté de manière empirique ainsi que théorique. Les résultats montrent que la baisse des coûts de licenciement en Egypte a augmenté significativement les destructions d'emploi, mais n'a eu aucun impact sur les créations. Cet échec partiel de la réforme est un paradoxe empirique, qui est interprété théoriquement par un effet d'éviction dû à l'augmentation du coût de la corruption ou/et à l'augmentation des salaires du secteur public. Une extension originale du modèle théorique de Mortensen-Pissarides est alors développée, permettant l'existence de trois secteurs, public, privé formel et privée informel. Ce cadre rend compte de la nature particulière des pays en voie de développement. Pour examiner la qualité des emplois et pour étudier les avancements dans l'échelle des salaires, une estimation structurelle du modèle de Burdett-Mortensen est ensuite proposée. Elle permet d'étudier et mesurer les frictions d'appariement sur les marchés du travail égyptien et jordanien. Les paramètres estimés sont extrêmement faibles, soulignant la forte rigidité de ces marchés. Le marché du travail jordanien s'avère, par contre, être plus flexible que l'égyptien. Compte tenu de la non-disponibilité de données de panels annuelles dans ces pays, il est montré que des données de panel rétrospectives peuvent être utilisées, pour étudier les transitions de court terme sur ces marchés du travail. Ces données de panel sont par contre soumises à un biais de mémoire. Une méthode originale de correction du biais de mémoire est donc proposée et développée. Elle vise à corriger les transitions à la fois à un niveau macro, en utilisant une méthode de moments simulés, ainsi qu'au niveau micro, en construisant des matrices de poids. / Policy prescriptions for poor developing countries struggle to expand employment opportunities toraise their income levels. Among these are the MENA Arab countries that have recently experiencedan unprecedented tide of popular uprisings following the rising poverty, inequality and exclusion, muchof which is related to the labor market. Since the flow approach to labor markets has become the basic toolbox to modern labor economics, this thesis has at its central insight explaining the functioning ofthose specific labor markets, particularly the Egyptian and Jordanian, using the search equilibrium theory. It looks at analyzing job accession, separations and mobility trends. Overall, evidence of highlevels of rigidity is revealed. The impact of introducing flexible employment protection regulations in these rigid markets is then discussed both empirically and theoretically. Findings show that lowering firing costs in Egypt increased significantly the job separations, but had no impact on job creations.This partial failure of the liberalization reform is interpreted theoretically by a crowding out effect due to increased corruption set up costs or increased public sector wages. A novel theoretical matching model a la Mortensen Pissarides is developped allowing for the existence of public, formal private and informal private sectors, reflecting the particular nature of developing countries. Workers’ movements up the job ladder is then explored through a structural estimation of the frictional parameters in a job search model a la Burdett Mortensen. These markets are found to have very high levels of search frictions especially among the young workers. Given the non-availability of panel data to study labor market flows, longitudinal retrospective panel datasets are extracted from the Egypt and Jordan Labor Market Panel Surveys. These panels are then compared to available contemporaneous crosssectional information, showing that they suffer from recall and design measurement erros. An original methodology is therefore proposed and developped to correct the biased labor market transitionsboth on the aggregate macro-level, using a Simulated Method of Moments (SMM), as well as on themicro-individual transaction level, using constructed micro-data weights.