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This study explores the linkages between slope form and slope process in arid environments. In doing so, questions of the development of slopes in arid environments are examined. The age of many arid environment surfaces, combined with the sporadic nature of formative events, means that long-term surface and slope development remains an elusive question in geomorphology. Deserts have inspired many of the most enduring theories of landscape evolution and continue to provide a test-bed for new and emerging ideas in geomorphology. The clast-mantled surface of the northeast Jordan Badia presents an ideal opportunity to study the links between surface character and slope processes in arid environments. The northeast Badia also provides an opportunity to explore theories of slope development and the behaviour of earth surface systems. The nature of the clast covered ground surface has been assessed using a new digital aerial photography and image analysis technique. A field study of surface processes has been used to explore links between surface form and slope process. Additionally, a computer based simulation of long-term modification of the spatial distribution of surface clast has been undertaken. Given the subtle variation in earth surface form between disparate locations, a new semi-quantitative method of locating sample sites has been developed. The characterization of surface form has identified statistically significant relationships between ground surface character and two-dimensional slope form. Systematic variations in ground surface configuration, both within and between basalt flows, are found to be indicative of the action of slope processes. The first study of ground surface hydrology in the north eastern Badia has been undertaken. The results from a series of rain-storm simulation experiments show subtle but significant links between the action of surface processes and variations in ground surface form. The controls on surface process are diverse and vary in significance with position in the landscape. A combination of ground surface characterization and process studies has identified several interesting geomorphological phenomena The surfaces exhibit systematic variations in structure and organization. Homeostatic links between form and process are clearly apparent, which suggests that surface form influences and is influenced by process action via a process of positive feedbacks. Given the sporadic and infrequent recurrence of formative events in arid environments, a modelling approach has been developed to understand the long-term, spatial dynamics of the ground surface. The model has been used to simulate structure in the surface clast arrangement and the sensitivity of surface organization to physically constrained variations in model parameters. The model also allows the surfaces to be considered as self-organizing earth surface systems. The model results provide new insights into the process-form linkages in operation on clast-mantled arid surfaces. The model results provide new ways of examining and understanding the dynamics of clast mantled arid surfaces and have implications for the application of self-organization in geomorphology.

E-government has become a popular focus of government efforts in many developed countries and, more recently, in several developing countries. Jordan is one such developing country that has embarked on an e-government initiative (the programme was launched in the year 2000, and is expected to take several years to complete). Existing empirical research on e-government has been undertaken principally within western developed countries. Of those studies that have focused on e-government implementation within developing countries, a few have identified one or more factors that play a part in the progress or otherwise of an e-government capability. Whilst useful as a combined list of possible factors to bear in mind, these studies have been based on “one-off” snapshot analyses of the situations found within the countries being studied. There is no indication as to whether the existence factors vary over time, and why this occurs. The aim of this research was to investigate the dynamic nature of, and interrelationships between, the factors that influence e-government implementation in Jordan over time. By conducting 42 semi-structured interviews with major stakeholders in Jordan including employees of the public and private sectors as well as ordinary citizens, qualitative data was collected over three periods of empirical work. By analysing the data based upon Strauss and Corbin’s variant of the grounded theory method, the research aim has been achieved. The findings of this research indicate that the factors that affect e-government implementation in Jordan differ in terms of their levels of dynamism: some persisted over three years of this longitudinal research while others emerged during the second and third cycle of the empirical work. Furthermore, while there are some factors that are similar to those that were already mentioned in the previous literature, four new factors have emerged from this research, these being: Wasta, war in Iraq, Parliament’s priorities, and government priorities. The factors that were founded from this research, and their dynamic nature, cumulated into a model based on the Jordanian context. This model said an important message to both researchers and policy makers working in the field of e-government: the factors of influence should never be regarded as being static or complete. The value of this research lies in the fact that it is one of only a handful of research that focus on issues affecting e-government implementation specifically in Jordan. Furthermore, it is unique in that it views the factors operating in this environment from a dynamic rather than a static perspective.

In the Information and Communications Technology era, eGovernment projects present a great opportunity for governments to offer better and quicker services to their users from the public. However, the success and the failure of these projects to achieve the expected goals depend heavily on some important aspects, mainly websites usability. The research in this thesis focuses on the usability of eGovernment websites in Jordan as a case study, as it is one of the developing countries facing problems due to websites usability. Hence, the main aim of the research was to investigate the situation of the Jordanian eGovernment websites with a view to improving usability, as well as to propose a roadmap to reinforce websites usability in order to achieve better utilisation and a more successful eGovernment project in Jordan. This research work achievement and major contributions have been accomplished through three stages; the first stage investigated the level of usability of eGovernment in Jordan from a manager‟s perspective. The study for this stage involved a sample of 37 managers who are in charge of managing and maintaining eGovernment projects in Jordan. The research revealed that the main problems undermining Jordanian eGovernment usability are the lack of the general usability awareness amongst management, the lack of clear usability standards and guidelines, the insufficient level of end-user involvement in the process of design and maintenance of eGovernment services, limited budgets and the lack of expert web-designers. The second stage was to build a clear overview about the status of eGovernment websites usability in Jordan by investigating main aspects related to design that affect the success of eGovernment websites in Jordan from an end-user‟s perspective. The study for this stage involved 155 participants for testing five Jordanian eGovernment websites. It was revealed that the Jordanian eGovernment websites generally do not have a high level of usability, and that there is a lack of understanding of the needs and requirements of the end-users. In addition, the study discovered a lack of testing and monitoring of the websites, a lack of involvement of end-users, poor collaboration and coordination among government agencies, poor standardisation, and lack of trust/satisfaction. The outcome from the early mentioned studies was used in the third stage, which has been used to establish the model to improve the usability of eGovernment websites in Jordan through a clear roadmap. The model has four components: website manager and designer, end-users, usability committee (advisory, executive), design process (usability requirements, pre-implementation test, post-implementation and maintenance). The model which was established and evaluated can be very beneficial for promoting eGovernment websites usability, in Jordan particularly and in other countries with similar backgrounds and situations.

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Thesis advisor: Kathleen Bailey / The recent wave of unrest across the Middle East has raised crucial questions about the stability of the remaining regimes in the region. Monarchies have appeared to have weathered the Arab Spring well and have emerged relatively intact while republics such as Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Syria have experienced revolutions that have completely overturned existing political and economic systems. Jordan has consistently been praised as a beacon of gradual liberalization in a region where so many dictators have ruthlessly clung to power. Upon closer inspection, however, the Jordanian system is not as well adjusted to democracy and economic capitalism as it may seem. The rentier system, most commonly found in resource rich countries, allows authoritarian regimes to co-opt their populations by using economic rent to supply goods and services usually provided by representative governments. Jordan fulfills a unique role as a rentier state because it does not possess natural resources but is instead able to co-opt its citizens as a result of the influx of external rent that the government receives through foreign aid and remittances. Drawing analysis primarily from scholarly articles and making use of media analysis and first person interviews, I examine the current problems facing the Jordanian system and the changes that have taken place as a result of the popular uprisings during the Arab Spring. The larger implications of this research present a roadmap for other entrenched regimes to follow in order to avoid falling into the self reinforcing and destructive system of favors and economic rent. While it may be too late for Jordan to reform its political system without a revolutionary overhaul, other regimes have the potential to work their way out of the rentier system before the network of rentseeking groups in itself becomes a force that not even the regime can stop. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Political Science .

The adoption of information systems and new technologies in the healthcare sector is becoming increasingly important, especially for developing countries, as it provides golden opportunities to modernize their structure, develop relationships with stakeholders, improve performance and achieve economic and social developments. Therefore, many developing countries are launching e-health initiatives aiming at innovating their current systems and transforming the traditional way of doing things. However, evidences show that the majority of e-health initiatives are not progressing as expected and that most of them end up with failures. The major aim of this thesis is to reveal the key drivers and challenges that support or impede the development of e-health and recommend strategies that can assist in managing future implementation efforts. A qualitative approach was employed and guided the process of research design, data collection and data analysis. This research used a single case study as the main technique. The case of this thesis is the Jordanian e-health initiative. The major source to collect data was semi structured interviews. Data was analysed through template analysis technique. Additionally, the researcher developed a novel conceptual framework to be used as a useful guide during the data collection and analysis phases. The framework was validated through the empirical work in Jordan. This thesis presented the research findings into three main themes; drivers, challenges and recommendations to e-health development in Jordan. Findings of the empirical work in Jordan confirm findings of previous studies available in current literature with respect to the drivers and challenges that influence the development of e-health initiatives. However, this thesis adds to the current literature some unique findings that were not revealed before. These being; Drivers: Religious motives, Availability of social media, Catch medicine shoppers, Jordan valued characteristics, Availability of local supportive environment & entities. And as for Challenges: Culture of blame, Discrimination acts, Arab spring, Tax evasion, Doctors role as managers. These new findings developed distinctively from the Jordanian, Islamic and Arabic context that was investigated. Finally, different practical recommendations, deployment strategies and management techniques were given to provide insights and ideas to decision makers and e-health leaders to manage future implementation efforts. The value of this thesis is fourfold. First, it contributes as a new reference in the field of e-health with respect to the drivers and challenges that impact the progress of e-health initiatives in developing countries and particularly in Jordan, where existing literature appears to be very limited. Second, it enriches the e-health literature by presenting new unique findings that were not revealed prior to this study. Third, the proposed framework developed in this study could be used as a valuable source for policy makers and practitioners as it supports understanding the key issues that correlate to e-health initiatives progress and thus assists decision makers to identify significant approaches and beneficial actions needed in order to ensure a smooth transformation towards e-health. Fourth, it encourages changes in practice as it suggests practical methods for leaders in order to manage future implementation efforts.

Dissertação apresentada para obtenção do grau de Doutor em Matemática, no Departamento de Matemática da Universidade de Aveiro, sob a orientação do Prof. Doutor Domingos Moreira Cardoso

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56).

Every Jordan isomorphism of triangular n¡Ñn matrices over F with characteristic 2 is either a isomorphism or a antiisomorphism while n is 2. But it is not true for n ¡Ù 3.