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While the importance of leadership in various domains has been highlighted in the extant literature, effective leadership in the context of higher education sector has not been well addressed in the leadership scholarship. There is a need to address the challenge of leadership effectiveness in the education sector, including business schools, given the failures noticed in the sector attributed to poor-quality leadership. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the factors that affected leadership in the context of higher education institutions.

The research is exploratory in nature as the study critically reviewed extant literature surrounding leadership practices specifically from a public-sector context to identify factors affecting leadership effectiveness.

The findings of the study pointed out that, regardless of the nation or organisation, leadership effectiveness is a factor that is dependent on how well the followers have accepted the leader. This indicates that, amongst the different challenges explored in this study, leadership effectiveness is not only a challenge by itself but is also affected by other challenges, including leadership practice and style.

This research provides a better understanding of the critical factors affecting leadership practice of deans of business schools and how the styles’ influence on leadership practice, the relationship between leadership practice and leadership effectiveness and how leadership style translates into leadership effectiveness.

This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge surrounding leadership scholarship from a public-sector context about the challenges that affect leadership effectiveness in the context of HEIs and stimulates further investigation into those challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the principal reasons why Emirate women are under‐represented in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) information technology (IT) sector; and the barriers and challenges that national women have encountered while working in this sector of the national economy.

The paper draws on data from 20 structured in‐depth interviews conducted with Emirate women who had worked for a minimum of five years in IT.

Although national women have made remarkable inroads into almost all professions and occupations in recent years, they are still noticeably under‐represented in IT, particularly in the private sector. In addition, very few are in senior‐level positions and there are, at the time of writing, no Emirate women technology‐entrepreneurs. The results show that cultural and familial factors still inhibit many young Emirate women from choosing careers in this profession, and negative gendered attitudinal assumptions about women are still prevalent within the local IT sector.

The sample size was small, so we were unable to test specific research hypotheses, or compare our results with quantitative cohort surveys conducted in other countries. Nevertheless, the findings warrant additional research, as increasing numbers of Emirate women graduate from local universities with IT/MIS degrees, and further research on this topic is described.

Five practical strategies are identified to encourage more young Emirate women to embrace IT careers in the future.

This is the first research on this issue conducted in the UAE/GCC region.

This study draws on recent actor-network theory (ANT) literature to provide a nuanced understanding of the effect of time on activity networks in urban spaces. It investigates the role of time in multiplying these networks and producing urban change, which is limited in similar ANT-related research.

This ethnographic study of a cul-de-sac square within a housing project in the suburb of Dahiyat Al-Hussein in Amman, Jordan, documents the changes in its activity networks when comparing the 1990s with 2019. Data were collected through interviews and site observations covering the two time periods to investigate the different activities that occurred constantly over time, which reflect the temporal network stabilisation within the square.

The findings demonstrate the profound effect time has on the stability of activity networks related to playing, observing, walking, vending and their interrelations. Their overlaps and conflicts with each other and with other networks in the space were observed. Unpacking the stability of activity networks and their interrelations demonstrates the change in their actor relations and temporalities over time. This is significant in understanding urban change.

The study investigates the importance of time in recognising and extending the multiplicity of urban activities, which suggests new ways of understanding urban change. This exploration highlights new possibilities for creating more adaptable spaces according to residents' long-term needs.

This study aims at unpacking the multiplicity of the sitting activity in public spaces through the lens of actor-network theory. In line with previous urban research focussing on outdoor activities, such empirical investigation aims to show the importance of the physical aspects of spaces, including seating, in supporting sitting activities as a way of encouraging the use of public space.

This study adopts the overlap between actor–network theory and affordances. It utilises ethnographic research involving frequent users in Dahiyat Al Hussein Park in Amman-Jordan. Data were gathered on the different seat–user relations and the translated sitting activity networks.

Analysis demonstrates different cases of alignment, misalignment and realignment between what is intended and experienced, and where these relations are maintained, disrupted or changed. These findings reveal the multiplicity of sitting activities; this is significant for understanding how they are maintained.

The research suggests a new way of conceptualising the relationship between the physical environment and users and an approach for examining sitting activities. Some studies have applied actor–network theory and/or the concept of “affordance” by highlighting relations between the object and its user and how they create sitting activities. However, only few studies have problematised the multiplicity of sitting when considering seating uses.

Islamic finance and Halal product sectors are thriving successfully. This chapter is a general review of the perception of Asian consumers on Islamic finance and Halal sectors in the global Halal economy.

The first section will briefly describe the Halal concept in both Islamic finance and Halal industries, and the growth of both sectors in Asian countries. The second part highlights the review of Asian consumers’ perception towards Islamic finance products and Halal products.

The review found that the consumers’ perception towards the Islamic finance products and Halal products is distinctive. This is due to the diversity of Asian countries in terms of geography, religion, culture, ethnic, school of thoughts (madzahib), income per capita and government’s involvement.

The third part of the chapter concentrates on planning towards Halal marketing, which involves the move and future challenges in different layers of industries to gear up and strengthen the Halal economy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) awareness on the attitudes of Bahraini women consumers in the age group of 18-55 and their buying behavior toward cosmetics products.

Quantitative method is used for focusing on Bahraini women consumers aged between 18-55 years. Primary data comprising consumer’s buying behavior and attitudes were collected through an online questionnaire and analyzed using software like SPSS and Microsoft Office Excel.

The empirical findings revealed that Bahraini women are not aware of CSR. This lack of awareness leads to the exclusion of CSR as a factor in their purchase decisions. However, the awareness of CSR can become a reason for avoiding purchase of specific cosmetics when the consumer discovers that the producer has been involved in socially irresponsible business practices. Moreover, Bahraini women do not seek CSR-related information voluntarily from the cosmetics industry.

This research paper is subject to sample size limitations; it focuses on women of a specific age group using cosmetics and is limited to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Survey method was used as the only primary data collection method.

This research provides a clear picture of how consumers behave in the absence of any or very little awareness of CSR. It can benefit cosmetics companies, both existing and new, for adopting future long-term marketing strategies to create public awareness of CSR.

This research highlights the importance of raising awareness of CSR in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the possible implications of such activities on consumers’ purchases of cosmetics products.

This paper contributes significantly toward information regarding Bahraini consumers’ lack of awareness of CSR and sheds light on consumers’ behavior toward cosmetics products in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of triggers of psychological distress among Jordanian patients with heart failure (HF).

A phenomenological study was adopted. In-depth, semi-structured, audio-taped interviews were conducted for 25 patients with HF. The analysis was done using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

The main theme of the findings can be expressed as “faced with stressors that are unable to cope with”, which encompasses circumstances and contexts associated with the psychological distress they faced. The following four sub-themes emerged from the data: being endorsed in significant life changes, feeling guilty about being a burden, financial burden aggravating stress and feeling overwhelmed by the fear of death.

The findings revealed that psychological distress is affected directly by many triggers. The findings indicate the need for informing health-care providers to support these patients and address the challenges and develop clinical guidelines to assess psychological distress among these patients.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the prevalence of general and abdominal obesity among adolescents attending independent schools in Qatar.

A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in November-December 2013 in 23 secondary schools. A total of 1,161 students aged 14 to 19 year olds were randomly selected using a multistage stratified cluster random sampling technique. Body weight, height and waist circumference (WC) were measured using standard protocol. The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) reference were used to define overweight and obesity. Abdominal obesity (AO) was defined by waist to height ratio (WHtR ≥ 0.5) and by sex- and age-specific WC cut-off values.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among the study population was 20.6 and 20.7%, respectively. The highest rate of overweight and obesity was observed among boys, and the youngest age group. The rate of obesity defined by either WC/or WHtR was higher than that assessed by BMI. The prevalence of AO assessed by WC and WHtR was 48.8 and 46.9%, respectively. The rate of AO was significantly higher (p < 0.05) among boys compared to girls for both assessment criteria. The proportion of adolescents with AO (WHtR ≥ 0.5) according to BMI was 17.3%, 80.8% and 97.1% for adolescents with normal, overweight and obesity had AO, respectively. Being male was significantly associated with higher odds of having both general obesity and AO.

The study revealed a high prevalence of general and abdominal obesity in adolescents in Qatar. Waist measures appear to be an important indicator in identifying adolescents at risk and should be included as screening tools for cardiometabolic risk.