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1 – 5 of 5Compared with its status in Islamic history, the mosque today has become a distinctive phenomenon, perceived as an identity vessel of contemporary Islamic architecture that…
Abstract
Purpose
Compared with its status in Islamic history, the mosque today has become a distinctive phenomenon, perceived as an identity vessel of contemporary Islamic architecture that conveys sacred metaphysical meanings. Since the advent of modernity Muslim societies has become increasingly secularized; the relationships of the sacred–secular and the divine-based demythologized knowledge have been deformed. The mosque was glossed over as the sole contemporary sacred edifice that bears metaphysical/Islamic connotations with cultural continuity. Its architecture, meanings and function have gone through a process of metamorphosis, particularly the state mosques. The contemporary mosque as such is facing a “semiological deterioration.” State mosques today are symbolic statements and communicative messages of their rulers’ power and national sovereignty, with a subsidiary role for worship, i.e., the sacred has turned into a secular power metaphor. This led to a state semantic confusion accompanied by a loss in the deeply rooted collective cultural codes of the sacred. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the metamorphosis of the semiological connotation of the contemporary mosque, with a special focus on grand state mosques, and its effects on the architecture of the contemporary mosque.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is theoretical research (no case studies included).
Findings
The metamorphosis that the contemporary mosque is experiencing today as a religious edifice with symbolic connotations and architectural iconism is but an effect of the changes that occurred in the concept of the scared and its relationship to the secular in contemporary Muslim communities, as a result of modernity. Such conceptual changes led to altering the deeply rooted cultural codes to be replaced by new intentional codes, used today as vehicles of communication in mosque architecture, especially in grand state mosques. Contemporary state mosques with its new symbolism and semantic meanings have contributed to redefining the concept of the contemporary mosque in general.
Originality/value
Mosque architecture today receives a significant importance. Many conferences and awards are dedicated to celebrating this phenomenon. Attempts to define the criteria and style of the contemporary mosque architecture are mounting. However, rarely there are studies that defy such attempts in a critical manner. This research seeks to criticize such approaches by highlighting the essence of the transformation in mosque architecture and its relationship to the concepts of the sacred and the secular, from a semiological perspective.
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This paper aims to assess the contemporary paradigm of urban utopia’s ability to fulfil its goals and to evaluate its attainability in the first place. Its main question is: are…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess the contemporary paradigm of urban utopia’s ability to fulfil its goals and to evaluate its attainability in the first place. Its main question is: are contemporary urban utopias achievable? If not, is there an alternative?
Design/methodology/approach
In light of modern urban utopia’s failure to achieve the “good city/society,” skepticism regarding utopianism has prevailed. However, many scholars stress the significance of utopianism, calling for its revival. Recently, a new paradigm of urban utopia has emerged; one that stems from present capitalist urban conditions and requires resolving its ills. It puts great emphasis on rights as a means to accomplish the good society and the just city. This research critically examines contemporary urban utopia to evaluate its ability to fulfill its goals. It poses questions such as: Does capitalism facilitates achieving its goals? Could rights as a means achieve the good city/society? If not, is there an alternative? To answer these questions, a substantially different perspective, that of Islam (as a societal system), is used as a utopic paradigm that could open up new paths for developing an alternative utopia.
Findings
It is found that despite the focus of both the Islamic societal system and mainstream contemporary urban utopia is on the concept of rights, vital dissensions exist between the two models regarding the concept of rights per se. Hence, the urban utopia of the good city and society is achievable, yet, it cannot transpire within the capitalist kaleidoscope.
Originality/value
Recently, discussions on what constitutes the future city and the alternative conceptions to the (Western) post-Enlightenment approaches generally offered in the English language planning literature have been on the rise. Therefore, this paper contributes to this debate through critically assessing Western contemporary urban utopias from a non-Western perspective, that of Islam. It introduces an alternative model based on Islamic urbanism that could open doors for deeper thinking regarding the alternative future/good city.
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Due to its ability to support well-informed decision-making, business intelligence (BI) has grown in popularity among executives across a range of industries. However, given the…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to its ability to support well-informed decision-making, business intelligence (BI) has grown in popularity among executives across a range of industries. However, given the volume of data collected in health-care organizations, there is a lack of exploration concerning its implementation. Consequently, this research paper aims to investigate the key factors affecting the acceptance and use of BI in healthcare organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Leveraging the theoretical lens of the “unified theory of acceptance and use of technology” (UTAUT), a study framework was proposed and integrated with three context-related factors, including “rational decision-making culture” (RDC), “perceived threat to professional autonomy” (PTA) and “medical–legal risk” (MLR). The variables in the study framework were categorized as follows: information systems (IS) perspective; organizational perspective; and user perspective. In Jordan, 434 healthcare professionals participated in a cross-sectional online survey that was used to collect data.
Findings
The findings of the “structural equation modeling” revealed that professionals’ behavioral intentions toward using BI systems were significantly affected by performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, MLR, RDC and PTA. Also, an insignificant effect of PTA on PE was found based on the results of statistical analysis. These variables explained 68% of the variance (R2) in the individuals’ intentions to use BI-based health-care systems.
Practical implications
To promote the acceptance and use of BI technology in health-care settings, developers, designers, service providers and decision-makers will find this study to have a number of practical implications. Additionally, it will support the development of effective strategies and BI-based health-care systems based on these study results, attracting the interest of many users.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is one of the first studies that integrates the UTAUT model with three contextual factors (RDC, PTA and MLR) in addition to examining the suggested framework in a developing nation (Jordan). This study is one of the few in which the users’ acceptance behavior of BI systems was investigated in a health-care setting. More specifically, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that reveals the critical antecedents of individuals’ intention to accept BI for health-care purposes in the Jordanian context.
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The Metaverse is an immersive virtual world where individuals interact with each other using an avatar. The Metaverse is promised to offer several potentials for different…
Abstract
Purpose
The Metaverse is an immersive virtual world where individuals interact with each other using an avatar. The Metaverse is promised to offer several potentials for different sectors. While the Metaverse promotes innovative interaction between individuals (e.g. learners), there is a scarcity of knowledge on what influences its acceptance and use in higher educational institutions (HEIs), particularly in developing countries. Thus, this paper aims to identify the factors that affect the users' intentions toward Metaverse technology for educational purposes in the HEIs in Jordan.
Design/methodology/approach
A study model was created by incorporating variables from the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) (performance expectancy, PE; effort expectancy, EE; social influence, SI; and facilitating conditions, FC) and information system success (ISS) model (user satisfaction, SAT; system quality, SQ; service quality, SVQ and information quality, IQ) with perceived curiosity (PC) and hedonic gratification (HG) constructs. Both PC and HG were added as context-related factors that could contribute to improving the applicability of UTAUT and ISS to a wide range of technology use contexts. Data were gathered from 441 Jordanian university students using an online questionnaire.
Findings
The analysis of the structural model revealed that users' behavioural intentions toward using Metaverse were significantly affected by user satisfaction (SAT), performance expectancy (PE), facilitating conditions (FC) and hedonic gratification (HG). Also, information quality (IQ) and services quality (SVQ) were revealed to have a significant influence on user satisfaction. Likewise, the results illustrated a significant impact of systems quality (SQ), information quality (IQ) and service quality (SVQ) on PE. Lastly, a significant effect of PC on the EE factor was found.
Practical implications
This study will shed light on a number of practical implications for developers, designers, service providers and decision-makers supporting the acceptance and adoption of the Metaverse technology in the educational context. Also, it will contribute to developing the right strategies, and Metaverse content which will draw the attention of learners.
Originality/value
As per the surveyed literature and the researcher's prior knowledge, this is one of the first studies that integrate the UTAUT model, ISS model and two contextual factors (PC and HG) besides testing the proposed model in a developing country (Jordan). This paper is one of the few in which the individuals' acceptance behaviour of Metaverse technology was examined in the HEIs context.
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