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This study aims at understanding the phenomenon of illegal housing in Jordan. A mixed methods approach, which combines quantitative and qualitative methodologies, was used to satisfy the study objectives. Data was collected using a valid questionnaire and face-to-face open interviews with households who live in Al–Salt city, based in Wadi Al-Akrad district. Results showed that people sought to have home-ownership rather than housing itself. While economic motives (i.e. closeness to work, job opportunities, low income, cheap rental, low land prices, low cost of construction and irregular financial sources) are the most important motives in making people to live in illegal housing. Social motives (i.e. health, education and marketing services) were found to be less important than economic conditions and cultural motives (i.e. kinship ties, habits and familiarity with area) were less important than social motives. Findings revealed that the illegal housing is a joint decision among different actors including households, neighbours, unskilled workers and master mason. The process of construction took place at short time, limited spaces and unsystematic vertical pattern. This paper suggests that urban renewal approach is an effective way to improve current illegal housing. This can be achieved by the cooperation between local municipality and government, the partnership between local residents and civil society organizations and raising public awareness of significance of urban renewal.

AbstractIt is normally argued that consumers make their purchase decisions on the basis of their evaluation of, and knowledge about, the product attributes. This paper reports findings from a research study, which was conducted to determine the nature and type of evaluative criteria used by an individual while purchasing a piece of precious jewellery. In doing so, the study looked into the significance of product category knowledge, brand familiarity and brand consciousness in product evaluation. A questionnaire was sent to 500 consumers of precious jewellery in five major cities of the UK. Results indicate that, in general, subjective attributes are more important for people buying precious jewellery than the objective attributes. The significance of specific attributes during product evaluation could vary according to one's level of product category knowledge, brand familiarity and brand consciousness. The paper discusses implications for the marketers. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications.

The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 was the result of declining active support for the government, and of waste and inefficiency in aid delivery. Yet, while corrosive, these problems were not in themselves sufficient to have brought about a collapse. To a significant degree, they were the result of early failings in institutional design, reflecting an American inclination to pursue short-term policy approaches that created perverse incentives - thus interfering with the long-term objective of stability.This book exposes the true factors underpinning Kabul's fall. The Afghan Republic came under relentless attack from Taliban insurgents who depended critically on Pakistani support. It also suffered a creeping invasion that put the government on the back foot as the US tried and failed to deal with Pakistan's perfidy. The fatal blow came when bored US leaders naively cut an exit deal with the enemy, fatally compromising the operation of the Afghan army and air force and triggering the final collapse, with top leaders at odds over whether to make a final stand in Kabul. The Afghan Republic did not simply decline and fall. It was betrayed.

Intro -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Map -- Preface -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Problem of Political Legitimacy -- 3. Pathologies of Aid and Development -- 4. Problems of Insurgency -- 5. Political Leadership -- 6. Diplomatic Disaster -- 7. Cascade Effects and the Unravelling of Military Power -- 8. The Final Days of Kabul -- 9. Conclusion -- Afterword: On Betrayal -- Notes -- Index -- Back Cover.

This study aimed to examine sign recognition in children with hearing impairment ages 6 - 9 years old from Al-Zarqa city in Jordan. Public signs were shown to the children and they were asked to say what the sign represented. Results were that children have difficulty recognizing a sign's meaning, as reflected in their answers. Results also showed that children can identify iconic signs like a mosque the most, and the index of a skull for danger or symbol such as the letter H to indicate a hospital the least. For signs they did not correctly identify, they viewed the sign as a picture, not a sign that has meaning. The study shows hearing impaired children's familiarity with signs in public spaces.

Received: 15 November 2022 / Accepted: 16 February 2023 / Published: 5 March 2023

Summary
On 29 February 2020 in Doha, the United States signed an 'Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan' with the extremist Taliban movement. Yet on 15 August 2021, the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul. This article argues that the Doha Agreement did not simply precede the Taliban takeover; in significant ways it contributed to it. In its negotiation, content and implementation, it created destructive incentives for domestic and international parties, and it had effects on mass psychology in Afghanistan that its creators seemed not to have anticipated or understood. In that sense, it serves as a cautionary tale about the danger of assuming that negotiated 'diplomatic solutions' are necessarily superior to messy alternatives. The closest 20th-century equivalent was the Munich Agreement of September 1938.

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impact of online identity orientation and online friendship homophily on online socializing, online information search and ethnic guests' hospitality experiences.


Design/methodology/approach
The study uses structural equation modeling to test a conceptual model developed after reviewing hospitality literature. Data is collected from a sample of 514 Turkish-Dutch ethnic guests living in the Netherlands using a self-administered questionnaire.


Findings
The results show that online identity orientations aligned with minority and majority cultures impact online friendship homophily and online socializing, which subsequently impact online information search and hospitality experiences of ethnic guests.


Practical implications
On the whole, ethnic communities have considerable spending power. The findings point to heritage and mainstream cultural socialization accounting for travel and hospitality experiences within an ethnic minority group. The findings supply relevant information for hospitality sectors on services to endorse or promote to guests from ethnic communities.


Originality/value
The study examines the simultaneous effects of online identity orientations and online friendship homophily on online socialization and hospitality experiences of ethnic guests. It highlights the role of culture in explaining the use of social networking sites and its potential impact on hospitality-related behaviors and experiences of ethnic guest consumers.

In Jordan less than 1% of preschool teachers are male. This study investigated a sample of mothers and female preschool teachers about their perceptions of male preschool teachers. A survey was developed to collect data from the participants. Results showed that participants perceive the work of men in preschools as being acceptable, yet they were of the opinion that preschool teaching is the work of females. Mothers agreed that children gain diverse experiences when taught by males or females. Female schoolteachers disagreed that male teachers have more control over their student during field trips. Most notably, female schoolteachers ages 19 to 29 were more accepting of the idea of male preschool teachers than other age groups.