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1 – 8 of 8Leila Cheikh Ismail, Hadia Radwan, Tareq Osaili, Eman H. Mustafa, Fatema M. Nasereddin, Hafsa J. Saleh, Sara A. Matar, Sheima T. Saleh, Maysm N. Mohamad, Rameez Al Daour, Radhiya Al Rajaby, Eman R. Saif, Lily Stojanovska and Ayesha S. Al Dhaheri
Nutrition labels provide a cost-effective method of conveying nutrition information to consumers. This study aimed to assess the use of nutrition facts panels, knowledge of…
Abstract
Purpose
Nutrition labels provide a cost-effective method of conveying nutrition information to consumers. This study aimed to assess the use of nutrition facts panels, knowledge of traffic light labelling (TLL) and perceived healthiness of food items using TLL among consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adults in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (n = 1,322). TLL knowledge score was derived for each participant. Conjoint analysis was used to calculate the utilities and relative importance of the perceived healthiness scores for four attributes (fat, saturated fat, total sugar, salt) at the aggregate level.
Findings
Participants had a positive attitude towards TLL but were less familiar with TLL than the nutrition facts panel (47.4 vs 85.8%). The mean TLL knowledge score was 3.6 out of 7 (51.6%). Younger age, higher education, higher income, and health-related qualifications were associated with higher scores. Conjoint analysis showed that participants tend to choose products with greener labels, especially for sugars (80.1%) and avoid red labels for fats. Sugars had the highest percentage value of relative importance compared to the other attributes (27.1%).
Originality/value
The study outcomes offer valuable insights into the extent of consumer awareness, comprehension and utilization of nutrition facts panels in the UAE. These findings contribute essential knowledge for a deeper understanding of the impact of nutrition labels on consumer behaviour and decision-making in the region.
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Adel Omar, Alaa Al-shari, Syed Haider Ali Shah, Gül Erkol Bayram, Eman Zameer Rahman and Marco Valeri
Drawing on the resource-based view, ecological modernization theory and upper-echelon theory, this study aims to explore how green manufacturing practices (GMGP) affect the…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the resource-based view, ecological modernization theory and upper-echelon theory, this study aims to explore how green manufacturing practices (GMGP) affect the sustainable performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
It also examines the mediating role of green innovation (GIN) and the moderating role of managerial discretion (MD). To test the hypothesized model, the data was collected from 394 manufacturing SMEs though survey and analyzed using SPSS and AMOS (SEM).
Findings
The results provide evidence for the positive relationship between GMGP and corporate sustainable performance (CSPR), mediated by GIN. Furthermore, the presence of MD enhances the positive effect of GMGP on CSPR through GIN. Thus, this study enhances the understanding of the relationship between GMGP and CSPR, including its underlying mechanism and conditional effects.
Research limitations/implications
This study collected sample from SMEs located in Punjab province of Pakistan which represents majority of the SMEs; however, future research can take data from other province and with large sample size.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the significance of GMGP and GIN in the manufacturing sector for attaining CSPR goals. GMGP guides business leaders to be more inclined toward the energy and resource consumption as well as waste generation within their organizations which lead to improved CSPR outcomes.
Originality/value
The findings of this study make significant contributions to the existing literature, shedding light on the dynamics between GMGP and CSPR. Moreover, the study offers managerial implications for organizations aiming to enhance their sustainable performance by implementing effective GMGP.
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Eiman Almheiri, Mostafa Al-Emran, Mohammed A. Al-Sharafi and Ibrahim Arpaci
The proliferation of smartwatches in the digital age has radically transformed health and fitness management, offering users a multitude of functionalities that extend beyond mere…
Abstract
Purpose
The proliferation of smartwatches in the digital age has radically transformed health and fitness management, offering users a multitude of functionalities that extend beyond mere physical activity tracking. While these modern wearables have empowered users with real-time data and personalized health insights, their environmental implications remain relatively unexplored despite a growing emphasis on sustainability. To bridge this gap, this study extends the UTAUT2 model with smartwatch features (mobility and availability) and perceived security to understand the drivers of smartwatch usage and its consequent impact on environmental sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed theoretical model is evaluated based on data collected from 303 smartwatch users using a hybrid structural equation modeling–artificial neural network (SEM-ANN) approach.
Findings
The PLS-SEM results supported smartwatch features’ effect on performance and effort expectancy. The results also supported the role of performance expectancy, social influence, price value, habit and perceived security in smartwatch usage. The use of smartwatches was found to influence environmental sustainability significantly. However, the results did not support the association between effort expectancy, facilitating conditions and hedonic motivation with smartwatch use. The ANN results further complement these outcomes by showing that habit with a normalized importance of 100% is the most significant factor influencing smartwatch use.
Originality/value
Theoretically, this research broadens the UTAUT2 by introducing smartwatch features as external variables and environmental sustainability as a new outcome of technology use. On a practical level, the study offers insights for various stakeholders interested in smartwatch use and their environmental implications.
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Ali Çağatay Kılınç, Emre Er and Kadir Beycioğlu
The issue of training and appointment of school administrators has consumed substantial attention from educational scholars for several decades. The literature has witnessed a…
Abstract
The issue of training and appointment of school administrators has consumed substantial attention from educational scholars for several decades. The literature has witnessed a growing amount of research effort in investigating and identifying the effective ways of training and appointing school principals. However, there are also political, social and cultural aspects to this endeavour, which potentially influences the practices pertaining to training and appointment of school principals. This chapter represents scholarly efforts to discuss issues on the training and appointment of school administrators in Turkey within its historical and political background. Thus, first, it focuses on the historical journey of the field of educational administration in Turkey. This journey has been categorised under three phases: The Ottoman Era, Early Years of Turkish Republic and the 1950s Onwards. Second, this chapter discusses school principalship in Turkey with a specific focus on political and legal dimensions. Finally, the chapter ends with an overall evaluation of the practices and policies pertaining to school administration curriculum in Turkey.
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Eman Abowardah, Wafa Labib, Samaher A. Fallatah, Amal Abdelsattar and Rouaa Atyah
The role of women in the architecture and design industry is aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to increase the participation of women in the Saudi construction…
Abstract
Purpose
The role of women in the architecture and design industry is aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to increase the participation of women in the Saudi construction sector. Saudi female graduates from architectural and design schools are currently working in most of the mega projects underway in Riyadh; however, they face certain challenges at the beginning of their working lives due to the gap between the skills acquired during an architectural and design education and those needed for employability.
Design/methodology/approach
This study evaluates the employability skills of Saudi female cooperative education (COOP) students and graduates from architectural schools in Riyadh. A quantitative approach is taken, and two questionnaires are administered: one for female COOP students and graduates from the college of architecture and design in one of the private universities in Riyadh and the other for employers from different architectural firms and governmental organizations in Riyadh. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the research data.
Findings
The research findings suggest that practical experiences and on-site observation activities should be provided, and sustainability solutions and applications should be incorporated into the curriculum to bring architecture education closer to the architectural profession and highlight the role of universities in supporting graduates' skills development.
Research limitations/implications
It is worth mentioning that the results of this study were based on the survey distributed to architecture and interior female students in a private university in Saudi Arabia. The number of students surveyed in this study is not large enough to generalize the survey results to the entire population of architecture and interior design students in the kingdom and in the world. The study will be extended to include more participants from male and female students in other universities in Saudi Arabia to investigate the gaps in employability skills in the field of architecture and interior design in the Kingdom.
Practical implications
The study has practical and policy implications for further development and upcoming challenges as the labor market seems to improve and innovate every day. The study suggests providing practical experiences and onsite observation activities and incorporating sustainability solutions and applications into the curriculum.
Originality/value
The originality of this study is that it focuses on the importance of some employability skills, such as research and budgeting aspects, Sustainability solutions and applications for students that have not been mentioned in the previous studies.
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Adnan Enshassi, Eman Al-Swaity, Abdul Rashid Abdul Aziz and Rafiq Choudhry
Construction experts face several types of stresses at construction sites. The purpose of this study is to recognize and investigate dominant coping behaviors to overcome stress…
Abstract
Purpose
Construction experts face several types of stresses at construction sites. The purpose of this study is to recognize and investigate dominant coping behaviors to overcome stress among construction professionals at the Gaza Strip.
Design/methodology/approach
For the purpose of this paper, a survey which used self-administrative questionnaires was conducted. A total of 320 questionnaires were distributed randomly to construction professionals working at the Gaza Strip. From the total questionnaires that were distributed, 183 were returned. This shows a 51 per cent response rate. Relative importance index and principal component analysis were applied to examine the responses. This study explored two central coping behaviors, namely, problem-focused and emotion-focused behaviors.
Findings
In relation to the problem-focused behaviors, a factor analysis revealed three underlying factors, namely, planned and constructive review problem-solving, need for social contributory support and confronted coping mechanism. As for emotion-focused coping behavior strategy, three principal factors were identified and named in order of their significance. These three principal factors include accepting responsibility, avoidance and seeking emotional support.
Originality/value
There is limited attention from researchers with regard to coping behaviors so as to deal with stress and stressors in the Palestinian construction industry. Therefore, this study aims to fill the gap for stress-related issues in the construction sector of Palestine. The outcomes of this study will be valuable for construction companies which pursue improvements in human resources, productivity and future strategy.
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Rebeca Lambers, Fiona Lamari, Martin Skitmore and Darmicka Rajendra
Construction defects are one of the primary causes of deficient quality performance and constantly yield project cost and schedule overruns mostly because of rework. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Construction defects are one of the primary causes of deficient quality performance and constantly yield project cost and schedule overruns mostly because of rework. This study aims to propose a new method for identifying a bespoke checklist of the most recurrent defects in residential construction work and their correlated causes as a basis for developing a framework for practical improvements in managing defect risks.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was first used to ground the defects within the existing theory and develop a new framework for ranking the key defects involved. This was demonstrated and tested by an analysis of Queensland Building Construction Commission (QBCC) archival data for 42,000 reported defects in new Queensland residential buildings. A questionnaire survey of 427 construction practitioners from 37 trades was then conducted to determine their causes.
Findings
The developed framework consists of preconditions for defective acts, defective supervision and organizational influences and is found to be suitable for analyzing the QBCC archives to rank the 20 most frequent defects. In the demonstration study, a questionnaire survey identified the highest frequency latent causes of defective acts to be workers taking shortcuts to complete tasks, workers’ lack of skill or knowledge level, challenges and limitations of technical constructability, and incorrect material supply; the failure to correct a known problem and poor supervision for defective supervision; and inadequate employee training, low managerial priority for quality and high time pressure and constraints for organizational influences.
Originality/value
The method is a new approach to identifying the key defects in residential construction work and their correlated causes for developing bespoke checklists as an aid to in managing defect risks.
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Husameddin Alshaer, Muhamad Helmi Md. Said and Ramalinggam Rajamanickam
This paper aims to highlight the role of the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) in combating money laundering. The discussion will focus on the sectors under the PAM authority by…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight the role of the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) in combating money laundering. The discussion will focus on the sectors under the PAM authority by examining the issued instructions.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study is a pure legal study. The methodology used in this paper is the qualitative approach by focussing on the doctrinal mechanism. Thus, it focussed on procedures, processes, laws, and regulations.
Findings
This paper found serious organisational inefficiencies within the governance framework of anti-money laundering (AML) for both the currency exchange and specialised lending institutions sectors. Moreover, the PMA’s role in combating money laundering is insufficient where its efforts are limited by random inspection visits and the installation of surveillance cameras in the money changers shops.
Practical implications
The findings may influence both the currency exchange and specialized lending institutions sectors to adopt a more vigilant approach to prevent the occurrence of money laundering in Palestine and to undertake more responsibility in ensuring compliance with the current AML legal framework. The study also highlighted that their current practice might place them in danger of non-compliance.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrated in, an exceptional way, the role of the PMA in combating money laundering by focussing on both legal and regulatory requirements for the three sectors under the PMA supervision authority. This paper made a valuable contribution to the study of combating money laundering in Palestine, where it is one of the first studies dealing with this issue involving this country.
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