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The COVID-19 outbreak has significantly impacted supply chains and has caused several supply chain disruptions in almost all industries worldwide. Moreover, increased transportation costs, labor shortages, and insufficient storage facilities have all led to food loss during the pandemic, and this disruption has affected the logistics in the food value chain. As a result, we examine the food supply chain, which is one of the key industries COVID-19 has detrimentally affected, impacting, indeed, on the entire business process from the supplier all the way to the customer. Retail businesses are thus facing supply issues, which affect consumer behavior by creating stress regarding the availability of food. This has a negative impact on the amount of food that is available as well as its quality, freshness, safety, access to markets, and affordability. This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on the United Arab Emirates food distribution systems and how consumer behavior changed in reaction to interruptions in the food supply chain and the food security problem. Hypothesis testing was used in the study's quantitative methodology to assess consumer behavior, and participants who were consumers were given a descriptive questionnaire to ascertain whether the availability and security of food had been impacted. The study used JASP 0.17.2 software to develop a model of food consumption behavior and to reveal pertinent connections between each construct. Results show that consumer food stress and consumption behavior are directly impacted by food access, food quality and safety, and food pricing. Furthermore, food stress has an impact on how consumers behave when it comes to consumption. Food stress, however, is not significantly influenced by food supply.
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This research attempts to understand how individuals prevent themselves from exposure to COVID-19 when dining out at a restaurant and what situational factors shaping their COVID-19 preventive behavior (CPB) are. It collects 303 questionnaires responded by restaurant patrons in the United Arab Emirates. The resultant data reveals the ranks of the relative importance among the five CPBs proposed by this study that wearing a mask is considered the most critical CPB. In contrast, wearing gloves is the least desirable CPB. Concerning five health-risk factors under investigation, there is no difference in CPB between the vaccinated and non-vaccinated. People suffering from issues with their immune system show a significant inclination to stress social distancing compared to those without any immune issues. Those having an inflected family member are apt to wear gloves. Further, individuals bearing risk factors concerning chronic illness, an immune problem, and an infected family member are inclined to wash their hands and wear gloves. Lastly, this research finds six situational factors affecting an individual's CPB. © 2023 Thouraya Gherissi Labben, Joseph S. Chen and Hyangmi Kim.
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This chapter aims to explore the role of technology application in tourism events, festivals, and fairs in the The United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the post-pandemic period of COVID-19. The chapter specifically focuses on various technical Apps based on the latest technology that may affect tourism events, festivals, and fairs. Existing literature lacks the ubiquitous role of technology Apps in sustainable tourism development in collaboration with tourism festivals, events, and fairs. The study identifies how tourists are affected by technology application, revealing in particular an increased tourism development and how tourists are continually enthralled by and attracted to tourism festivals, events, and fairs due to the advancement of the latest technology application in tourism. In this chapter, the perspective of the UAE is brought into the discussion. The chapter reveals that technology application in tourism festivals, events, and fairs can ensure sustainable tourism development in the UAE, especially in the post-pandemic period of COVID-19. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.
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Migration has become a de facto phenomenon in the contemporary globalized world and India is not untouched. Indian labourers from the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh migrated to the UAE in search of better jobs and prospects. They migrated alone and left behind their families. The distance between them and their family can also create mental disorders; therefore, it becomes necessary to analyze the mental health of the migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study is quantitative and based on a sample survey approach. The researchers collected 416 samples through a structured questionnaire and used the snowball sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, chi-square test and logistic regression were utilized to analyze and interpret the results. The outbreak of coronavirus disturbed their livelihood resulting in a cut to their salary or earnings; in total, 83% of migrants were affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in terms of loss of their income, out of which 76% were affected by less than AED 1000. The respondents' mental health was worrisome, but they were hopeful for the future. In total, 73.5% of respondents felt nervous, 62% felt depressed, 77% felt lonely, 63.4% had a hard time sleeping, and 63% had difficulties concentrating. The findings of the study draw attention to the policymakers to carry out necessary provisions to the targeted psychologically affected community. The findings also suggest creating awareness among the people by using social networking sites and diagnosing mental disorders on an urgent basis.
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This multicenter retrospective investigation aimed to identify predictors of pneumothorax (PTX), pneumomediastinum (PM), and subcutaneous emphysema (SE) in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia admitted to the ICU. A total of 256 patients were included, with 128 in the case group and 128 in the control group. The study sample consisted of predominantly male patients with a mean age of around 53 years and a high prevalence of comorbidities. Significant predictors of PTX, PM, and SE included the presence of coronary artery disease, non-rebreather mask usage, high-flow oxygen therapy, mechanical ventilation, pressor usage, inpatient dialysis, steroid usage, sedative usage, narcotic usage, paralytic usage, elevated C-reactive protein levels, increased lung infiltration, the presence of PM and SE, mode of ventilation, duration of various respiratory support interventions, and severity of illness as indicated by APACHE and SOFA scores. These findings have important implications for the clinical management of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, as they may help identify and closely monitor at-risk individuals, allowing for timely intervention and potentially improving clinical outcomes. Future research should focus on validating these predictors in larger cohorts and investigating the underlying mechanisms to develop targeted preventive and therapeutic strategies.
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PurposeThis study aims to investigate the entry-level student's awareness of environmental sustainability focussing on the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) campus and measure the effectiveness of the course materials. A comparison between the students who took the general education sustainability (GESU 121) course face to face and the ones who tool it online was applied. Design/methodology/approachThis study was descriptive in nature, and the data is obtained using a cross-sectional survey of the students attending the UAEU in 2020. The data collection was done in two semesters, Spring 2020 [face-to-face class] and Fall 2020 [online class, after COVID-19 effect]. A total of 160 participants responded to the survey. The Pearson's Chi-square test for independence was conducted and used to identify if any statistical differences exist between the studied variables. FindingsThis study revealed that the awareness of environmental sustainability was increased in both groups [face-to-face students and online students], after taking the course. In addition, around 80% of the students were interested to participate in sustainability initiatives on the UAEU campus. The students' perception of the statements about the UAEU campus environmental sustainability varied from Spring 2020 (53.3% were not sure that the UAEU campus is environmentally sustainable) to Fall 2022 (63% of the online students believed that the campus is environmentally sustainable). Originality/valueStudents' awareness and perception are very important to improve the environmental sustainability of the University campus. The novelty of this study is to examine the awareness of entry-level students among the environmental sustainability focussing on the UAEU campus and examine the effect of COVID-19 [online classes] on delivering the course knowledge. The findings of this study provide the information for the improvement of the course for the future semesters.
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This study evaluates the working capital management (WCM) super-efficiency in UAE firms and determines how the COVID-19 crisis may affect WCM super-efficiency from a statistical perspective. Data envelopment analysis (DEA), difference tests, and Tobit regression techniques are used. Integration of DEA with Tobit regression is required to recognize the potential statistical consequence of COVID-19 on the super-efficiency of WCM. The results show that WCM super-efficiency is moderate and requires decision-makers' corrective measures to attain best practices. The study results show no significant difference in WCM super-efficiency, and COVID-19 does not significantly influence WCM super-efficiency. The results would rouse decision-makers' interests, who would look into the firm's efficiency and weak spots. They would then take major steps to improve efficiency and achieve the best practices. Stakeholders such as managers, financiers, and investors may need these results to monitor how firms manage their assets and liabilities. We contribute to the literature by investigating and evaluating firms' WCM super-efficiency pre and post the COVID-19 pandemic employing a unique technique based on DEA super-efficiency and examining whether COVID-19 has affected WCM super-efficiency to extend the scope of knowledge and stressing the importance of sound WCM, especially in periods of economic distress. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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Objective criteria have been scarce in published data on the occurrence of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is crucial that we enhance our comprehension of PCOS prevalence in the UAE to inform key stakeholders about the disease's burden and enable comparisons with other nations. This research aimed to examine the PCOS prevalence at a large academic tertiary centre in Dubai, UAE, called Latifa Women and Children's Hospital. We performed a cross-sectional study by reviewing the electronic medical records of patients accessing care between 2017 and 2022 (5 years). By utilizing the international classification of diseases codes (ICD-10), we discovered a period prevalence of PCOS of 1.6% among 64,722 women aged between 15 and 45 years. It is worth noting that the estimated annual point prevalence rose from 1.19% in 2020 (at the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic) to 2.72% in 2022 (after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic). Therefore, the odds ratio of the risk of a PCOS diagnosis in 2022 compared to 2020 was 2.28. The majority of the women diagnosed with PCOS in this study had an ICD-10 code of E28.2. Women with PCOS were younger than the controls, less likely to be pregnant, and had a higher body mass index and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. This is the most extensive research to date examining PCOS prevalence in the UAE, and it emphasizes the significance of this condition. It is crucial to prioritize PCOS to prevent morbidity and mortality from reproductive and long-term health consequences, including infertility, type 2 diabetes and endometrial cancer, which is presently the most frequent gynecological cancer in the UAE.
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COVID-19 , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 , Polycystic Ovary Syndrome , Pregnancy , Child , Humans , Female , Adolescent , Young Adult , Adult , Middle Aged , Polycystic Ovary Syndrome/epidemiology , Prevalence , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/epidemiology , United Arab Emirates/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Pandemics , COVID-19/epidemiologyABSTRACT
This comparative quantitative study aims at investigating whether instructional delivery methods, such as online, hybrid, blended learning and face-to-face delivery methods, had an effect on students' grades when teaching mathematics to English language learners in a higher education Institution in the United Arab Emirates. Final course grades, in GPA format, of 574 students were collected over the course of three academic years. Assumptions of analysis of variance (ANOVA), post hoc tests, effect sizes Cohen's d were examined. The statistically significant difference across four different instructional delivery methods showed effect sizes that grew from medium to large to very large when increasing the amount of online instruction. These findings surpass other studies and suggest a high practical significance. The consequences of COVID19 on instructional delivery methods had a favourable effect on students' grades. Higher education institutions in the UAE may use these findings for future planning, even beyond the pandemic. Recommendations are made for further research to include more variables and other disciplines.
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Background and Aim: Viruses are important components of the microbiome of ticks. Ticks are capable of transmitting several serious viral diseases to humans and animals. Hitherto, the composition of viral communities in Hyalomma dromedarii ticks associated with camels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remains unexplored. This study aimed to characterize the RNA virome diversity in male and female H. dromedarii ticks collected from camels in Al Ain, UAE. Materials and Methods: We collected ticks, extracted, and sequenced RNA, using Illumina (NovaSeq 6000) and Oxford Nanopore (MinION). Results: From the total generated sequencing reads, 180,559 (~0.35%) and 197,801 (~0.34%) reads were identified as virus-related reads in male and female tick samples, respectively. Taxonomic assignment of the viral sequencing reads was accomplished based on bioinformatic analyses. Further, viral reads were classified into 39 viral families. Poxiviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Phenuiviridae, Mimiviridae, and Polydnaviridae were the most abundant families in the tick viromes. Notably, we assembled the genomes of three RNA viruses, which were placed by phylogenetic analyses in clades that included the Bole tick virus. Conclusion: Overall, this study attempts to elucidate the RNA virome of ticks associated with camels in the UAE and the results obtained from this study improve the knowledge of the diversity of viruses in H. dromedarii ticks.
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Crises like COVID-19 affect organizations as well as employees' well-being. Leaders, in this sense, have a critical role to play in reducing the challenges and promoting a healthy workplace. With employees feeling overwhelmed and anxious to cope, leaders should provide the appropriate support and guidance. This quantitative study examined the relationship between different leadership styles, which are participative, directive, supportive, and Laissez-Faire, and teachers' well-being in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study adds insights into the UAE's public school context, where 101 teachers were surveyed following a snowball sampling technique. Findings revealed that Laissez-Faire and directive styles were the most dominant among the four leadership styles examined. In terms of the relationships between leadership styles and well-being, correlation and regression analyses were done through SPSS, and findings from the Generalized Linear Model analysis revealed that although the four styles correlated positively with well-being, the participative leadership style had the most decisive influence. The results showed that none of the demographics had any significant influence on well-being, and no differences in well-being in terms of demographics were reported. © 2023 The Author(s).
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Motivation has long been recognized as a critical component of language learners' success. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), an autonomously motivated student is more likely to be engaged in a learning activity. As the learners' needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness ought to be accommodated, these basic psychological needs of learners (BPNs) must be addressed to sustain autonomous motivation. Although there is a substantial number of literature that addresses the role of these three components in the context of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) and their relationship to autonomous motivation (Kohnke, 2020;Alamer, 2021b;Kartal, 2019;Ali, 2019), the use of Microsoft Teams is almost never addressed. This study aimed to examine the relationship between the informal use of mobile apps by teachers, such as messaging applications, and their students' levels of motivation. This study involved one group of students divided into six sections with the same level of proficiency, who were enrolled in a foundation course in English at a private university in the United Arab Emirates (N = 344). The students were studied over a period of time (Phase 1 and Phase 2 groups of the same population). The analyses were carried out by the use of ANOVA with repeated measures and a t-test. Participants' autonomy and competence were found to have increased slightly as a result of the study. The study, however, failed to demonstrate any significant impacts on anxiety, self-confidence, engagement with language tasks, nor on actual achievement. © 2023 World Journal of English Language.
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The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between work stress, employee engagement, employee well-being, and employee and organizational resilience, in order to develop a model that can be used to investigate the effects of these variables on organization performance. A quantitative approach was used and structural equation modeling with AMOS 28 was applied to investigate the relationship between the variables in a convenient sample of 394 employees in the UAE. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that work-stress negatively impacts the resilience of organizations, while work engagement and employee resilience are positive indicators of the resilience of organizations. No relationship was found between employee well-being and organizational resilience. Using the findings of this study, one may be able to determine whether a company will be able to achieve better resilience when operating in the midst of intense crisis situations. © 2023 by the author.
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With recent advancements in IT, internet systems and and the need for IT-driven society, particularly during Covid-19, online education (online learning, or e-leaming) has become inevitable to achieve the multiple objectives (such as cost-effective, time-efficient, quality enhancement, etc.) both for educator and learner. Keeping in view the importance of online education, the current study focuses on pedagogy of how to increase the efficiency of a learner. Therefore, this study is aiming to explore how these two dimensions of online learning style are used to measure new learners' satisfaction with online education, for which this study focuses on identifying the role of a student-teacher-contact (STC) in exploring the degree of learners' satisfaction with online education, and also applying the moderating effect of student-student contact (SSC). A total of 340 target respondents were surveyed in three phases. The results showed that STC interaction was insignificant during phase – I, whereas both interactions were found significant during phase – II & III. The research emphasizes that SSC in the presence of moderators has a significant determinant of the degree of new learners' satisfaction with online education. In addition, the management of online learning institutions will realize that SSC is essential for achieving new learners' satisfaction with online education. Since there is no sufficient literature on the moderating role of STC, this study is a valuable contribution to the existing body of knowledge © 2023, Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education.All Rights Reserved.
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Background: Patients undergoing an interventional radiology procedure report some degree of anxiety. Therefore, procedure-related anxiety needs to be managed. The aim of our study was to investigate patient satisfaction with monitored anesthesia care (MAC) for uterine artery embolization (UAE)-related procedural anxiety in symptomatic uterine fibroids or adenomyosis. Method(s): Between May 2021 and June 2022, 36 patients with symptomatic fibroids or adenomyosis underwent UAE with MAC. Follow-up evaluations consisted of clinical symptoms, degree of satisfaction with MAC in UAE, and complications. Result(s): MAC in UAE was successfully performed in all patients. UAE significantly reduced patients' complaints such as bleeding and pain: the scores for bleeding and pain were significantly reduced after 3 months of UAE compared with those before UAE, indicating the effectiveness of UAE. The mean score of satisfaction with MAC in UAE was 4.3 points, meaning that 94.4% of women were satisfied or very satisfied. No major complications were observed. Conclusion(s): MAC in UAE for symptomatic uterine fibroids or adenomyosis can be emotionally effective and safe for patients who are anxious about the procedure.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).
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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to report empirical research on gender managerial obstacles in UAE private organizations. It identifies the barriers that limit opportunities for gender equality promotion in managerial level positions.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were gathered from 384 female managers operating in UAE organizations using Survey Monkey and ANOVA for statistical analysis. Two variables (years of experience and industry) were used to compare the average means across the responses and the differences among the group.FindingsThe situation of gender equality in UAE management currently shows a positive trend. The females who participated in the survey have considerable work experience and jobs in a vital economic sector of the UAE industry. The earlier cultural stereotypes that worked against the interests of women in the UAE society are no longer relevant except for informal barriers and the level of cooperation among female leaders. We found differences among industry, service and transportation sectors in which gender managerial level in a private industry is dependent upon the number of years of experience for female managers.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of the study is the online survey was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during the lockdown period in the spring of 2020, which led to a low number of participants responding to the questionnaire. Additionally, the survey did not include a nationality question to distinguish Emiratis from non-Emirati.Social implicationsThis study indicates a need to coordinate UAE female leaders' actions to protect their rights, develop formal and informal mechanisms of gender inequality realization in business and promote professional skills, orientation on social networks, and mentoring programs for female leaders. These initiatives improve the positions of female leaders.Originality/valueThe study of the UAE case adds to the existing literature on gender studies because the survey-based research in the UAE context contributes to the limited knowledge of Middle Eastern countries. The females' employment and their representation in managerial levels remain lower compared to males. Differences exist among the industry, service and transportation sectors.
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PurposeThis paper explores medical tourism development challenges in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pre- and during Covid-19. Medical tourism is becoming a dynamic, rapid growth area and an engine of economic development.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews were conducted with medical tourism professionals. Fourteen medical tourism stakeholders were interviewed from 1 January to 31 January 2020. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied on medical tourism challenges before and during the pandemic.FindingsThe major themes indicated concerns for medical tourism in the UAE and they included higher medical services costs and a shortage of highly qualified medical expertise. The emerging themes related to the challenges of coping with Covid-19 and strategies to attract medical tourists.Originality/valueThis study contributes towards (1) the theory of medical tourism, (2) the related limited prior published work on this topic relating to the UAE and (3) the importance of medical tourism in today's tourism industry. Additionally, there are theoretical and practical implications for medical tourism stakeholders in terms of attracting inbound medical tourists to the UAE from other countries during the Covid-19 crisis and in the post-pandemic situation.
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Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), being a significant role player the actualization of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision of 2030, would need to improve and upgrade its performance level and its competitive advantage during this Covid-19 pandemic period. Therefore, this study examined the effects of technology management, innovation and training on organization performance in ADNOC United Arab Emirates (UAE). It also examined the moderating effect of work environment on the relationships between technology management and organizational performance, between innovation and organizational performance, and between training and organizational performance. This study has followed the quantitative method to collect the data and smart-PLS has been used to examine the nexus among the understudy variables. The overall findings signified a positive effect of technology management, innovation, and training on organization performance in ADNOC UAE. The result also indicates the moderating effect of working environment on the relationship between technology management and organizational performance. The overall findings imply that technology management, training and innovation are crucial drivers of enhanced performance, but conducive environment should be ensured to stimulate endured performance. © 2023 Iran University of Science and Technology. All rights reserved.
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The COVID-19 pandemic impacted many if not all aspects of our lives, including the way we handle money. This paper takes mobile payments as an example to show how COVID-19 affected the United Arab Emirates. Many researchers rushed into writing their first impressions in response to the pandemic to produce early study results. This paper uses these early electronic articles and blogs as valuable data sources for a first-level analysis. It attempts to assess the impact of COVID-19 on mobile payment services in the post-pandemic world from the demand and supply perspective in the UAE. The previous literature has been reviewed to understand the scope of the services present in the UAE before the onset of the pandemic. Further, an online questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions was used to gather data from 125 vendors capable of receiving mobile payments. Regression analysis with two time periods has been included to develop a better perception of mobile payment services before and after the spread of the coronavirus. It was found that COVID-19 has created a suitable environment for mobile payments, with significant positive relationship in both periods. The reasons for using mobile payments during the pandemic were to apply social distancing and to avoid physical touch, a requirement in the COVID-19 period, resulting in a move towards creating a positive attitude towards a cashless society. © 2023 by the authors.
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This paper examines journalistic metadiscourse on verification and professional identity in the UAE. Using in-depth interviews with journalists from various UAE institutions, the study interprets journalism as a culture of practice where journalistic roles and practices are discursively constructed as a "part of a wider framework of meaning” within the parameters and conditions where news are produced and circulated. Drawing on the hierarchy-of-influences model, the paper analyzes the epistemological, institutional and professional factors shaping journalists' construction of journalism as a field of practice and professional identity. It also examines how journalists in the UAE interpret the notion of verification and apply it in their work, especially in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. The paper argues that journalists' professional identity in the UAE is marked by an exclusionary boundary discourse legitimizing the social role of journalists within a loyalist press model that is increasingly challenged by a fast changing communicational ecosystem at the regional and global levels. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.