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This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the innovation environment of a developing nation through the Triple Helix model, revealing the existing inter-relationships between the three Helixes of Academia–Industry–Government. It sets out to find out the relationship and impact of the three Helixes on the most crucial stage of the innovation process: the commercialisation of patents, and to ascertain if there is a varying impact determined by patent ownership.

This cross-sectional study uses the survey method based on the views expressed by 220 Sri Lankan registered patent holders and categorised by organisational and individual ownership. The sample is drawn from the database of the National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka and patents registered through the Patent Cooperation Treaty, extracted from the World Intellectual Property Organisation Patent Scope database. The survey was carried out in 2019 and limited to patents registered during the period 2010–2014.

The empirical findings indicate weak inter-relationship between Academia support, Industry support and patent commercial success, while the support of the Government Helix is non-significant in the commercial stage. The findings also indicate two different support standards existing in each Helix for the two ownership groups.

The study is limited to a five-year window in a relatively early period in the country’s innovation policy development. The study model is also limited by the non-inclusion of mediators such as government-backed affiliated agencies and academia technical transfer offices which if incorporated would improve the study model and be more reflective of the actual environment and their role as change agents bridging the transition to a hybrid Triple Helix.

The study findings capture the inter-relationships of the Triple Helix existing in a developing country at the most crucial stage of the innovation process. It helps policymakers identify the gaps in each Helix that stands wanting and take measures to rectify them by creating a more favourable National Innovation System. An innovative environment that will facilitate patent holders achieve higher technological transfers and commercial success rates.

The findings disclosure of two different support standards existing in each Helix for the two patent ownership groups poses a challenge for policymakers and challenges the core objective of increasing the commercial success of patents granted. The findings strengthen the need for a more robust support system to be put in place that would empower and facilitate the individual patent owner to increase the share of economic value arising from this underutilised patent group.

This study contributes by furthering the Triple Helix model in a social context and micro-setting by operationalising the theoretical practices. The study also gives insight into each Helix’s interaction and contribution during the most crucial stage of innovation management in a developing economy and its impact on the two categories of patent ownership which is scarce.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the existing literature on the relationship between different service attributes and patient satisfaction at outpatient nutrition clinics to propose and test a culture-specific conceptual model interlinking the drivers of patient satisfaction.

Over a 7-week period in Fall 2019 (November 2–December 19), 600 patients from a Lebanese-Middle Eastern hospital (396 females and 204 males) completed an anonymous-designed survey with closed questions (n = 30). Statements were considered to represent specific attributes of nutrition services. In order to measure the existence and degree of significant relationships between different research variables, Pearson correlation coefficients and Fisher's Z test were employed to analyze the collected data, before and while joining the clinic, during and after the appointment. Means of scores and frequencies were calculated.

The results show that the nutrition service attributes with reference to “after the appointment” may improve the patients' satisfaction level more than attributes with reference to “while joining the clinic” and “during the appointment”. Most patients were satisfied with their overall outpatient clinic experience. The patient experience is a direct result of positive interactions with the entire services offered.

The conceptual model sets the foundations for testing and for further research to develop. Moreover, the findings of this study are important for assessing the quality of nutrition service attributes and for reporting on the ability of this service to meet the needs and preferences of patients in the health care sector.

This study attempts to fill the gap in knowledge on nutrition service quality as indicators for overall patient satisfaction, while opening clear research avenues for further studies to follow. It is the basis for the development of clinical practice guidelines and other quality enhancement tools.

In today's challenging markets, organizations need to explore new ways to maximize employees' effectiveness and job satisfaction. Within this context, employed fresh graduates are a special group, which requires attention. Recognizing its needs in job design is one of the keys. The aim of the study is to determine the mediating role of experienced psychological states in the relationship between job dimensions and personal/work outcomes (motivation, satisfaction, effectiveness and commitment).

The new “modified job characteristics model” (MJCM) was implemented, where the focus was on testing if experienced psychological states play a mediating role. An index for summarizing core job dimensions (modified motivating potential score (MMPS)) was also developed in the study. For the empirical testing of the new modeling framework, a sample of 630 employed fresh graduates in Lebanon was selected. Various statistical analyses were performed, including partial correlation and multiple regression analysis.

Results showed that for those core job dimensions that significantly affected fresh graduates' personal/work outcomes, the relation was not direct causal, but was mediated by “experienced meaningfulness of the work”, “experienced responsibility for outcomes of the work”, “knowledge of results”, “self-confidence” and “prestige inside outside”. Further, MMPS was verified as a valid score reflecting the “motivating potential” of a job.

The findings demonstrate the importance of effectively designing and redesigning jobs: employers should focus on the core job dimensions and adopt an adjusted strategy to enhance fresh graduates' affective and behavioral responses.

The current study innovatively examines fresh graduates' psychological states and their role as a mediator in the relation between job dimensions and job satisfaction or commitment. A new modeling framework is used and an index for summarizing job dimensions is developed.

This study aims to identify the effect of selected agro-industrial factors associated with the olive oil phenolic composition, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant capacity and oxidative stability index (OSI). The study also aims to assess the relationship between the quality indices and each of the individual phenol, TPC, antioxidant capacity and OSI.

Olive oil samples (n=108) were collected from Lebanese northern (Akkar and Zgharta-Koura) and southern (Hasbaya and Jezzine) regions, at three harvesting times (early, intermediate, late) and using different types of mills (traditional, sinolea, two- and three-phase decanters). The samples were analyzed using official standard methods.

The highest TPC, antioxidant capacity and OSI were obtained in early harvested olive oil, using two-phase decanters for TPC and three-phase decanters for antioxidant capacity and OSI. A prediction model, including the free acidity, K232, TPC, C18:2, C18:0, tyrosol and apigenin, was obtained; it allowed to predict very highly significantly the OSI (p < 0.001). Apigenin, tyrosol and C18:2 recorded the highest standardized coefficients (ß^+= 0.35) and thus had the highest influence on OSI. As per antioxidant capacity of olive oil, another very highly statistically significant prediction model was constructed (p < 0.001). It included only two predictors, oleacein and TPC, with the latter having the most influence (ß^+= 0.37).

The overall results highlighted the detrimental effects of agro-industrial factors on olive oil chemical composition, and this contributes significantly to improve olive oil’s quality and characteristics, which are important for the product economical and nutritional values.

Adequate nutrition knowledge forms the foundation for optimal physical health and performance. In Lebanon, there are limited studies on the effect of nutrition knowledge on the athletes’ performance. This study aims to evaluate university athletes’ nutrition knowledge status and to identify the factors predicting athletes’ performance.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 384 university student-athletes, using a validated tool with modifications (Furber et al., 2017) to assess nutrition knowledge. The modified questionnaire includes seven subsections (vitamins and minerals, general nutrition, fluid, fat, carbohydrate, protein and sporting performance). Further, anthropometric measurements were taken; body composition was determined by the bioelectrical impedance analysis method. Handgrip strength, as an indirect measure of athlete performance, was assessed with the hand dynamometer. To measure the existence and degree of significance among different variables, Pearson correlation coefficients, χ² and linear regression were used.

The health group had a higher level of nutritional knowledge, compared with the non-health group. The overall mean sports nutrition knowledge score for the student-athletes was 63.54%, which was considered inadequate sports nutrition knowledge (mean < 75%). Further, athletes’ performance was significantly predicted by the resting metabolic rate, lean muscle mass and weight.

The findings may help the university administration to implement a nutrition education program for athletes enrolled in non-health majors. Information gained serve to help dietetics professionals in Lebanon refine education strategies and sports clubs in universities to start to budget for hiring dietitians.

The research aims to test the links amongst Meyer and Allen's three levels of organisational commitment and the commitment's effect on reducing turnover intentions for Islamic bank (IB) employees during the lockdown caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The research follows a variable-centred approach. Primary data are collected through a survey of 324 respondents comprising IB employees from three Arab countries, notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon and Oman. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach's alpha test are conducted to test the construct validity, reliability and internal consistency of collected data. Descriptive statistics are used to interpret the data. Zero-order correlations, multiple regression analysis and Fisher's Z-test are applied to assess the interrelations of the various groups of variables and the determinants of turnover intentions.

Results show that there is a high level of significant intercorrelation amongst affective, normative and continuance commitments as well as amongst organisational commitment, individual differences and turnover intentions for IB employees from the three studied Arab countries. The results confirmed that turnover intentions are minimised in the presence of all three organisational commitment subscales and that individual differences amongst IB employees and organisational efficiency moderate the relationship between organisational commitment and turnover intentions.

There is no empirical work that has been done on the determinants of turnover intentions amongst IB employees during the lockdown. This is valuable to organisational behaviour scholars and practitioners who are interested in the role that organisational commitment plays in IB's employment behaviour.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of reward systems on team performance and analyze how satisfaction with rewards can result in better working performance and cohesiveness in the job environment.

Data was collected from 32 single members of different teams working in 10 selected banks from the Middle East and North Africa region.

The analysis from empirical findings reveals that there is a positive link between reward systems and team performance. More particularly, profit sharing has positive effects on team performance and collective bargaining reward systems affect significantly team cohesiveness. These links create an opportunity for employers to use reward systems as a motivating factor to direct team behavior toward more employee retention.

This study contributes to the teamwork performance research stream by empirically studying how rewards improve team performance and cohesiveness in Eastern contexts. Studies in such contexts are relatively rare.

This study aims to investigate the perceptions of elderly learners in experiencing Zoom learning under the effects of COVID in the case of Hong Kong.

An online survey and focus group interviews have been conducted with quantitative and qualitative approaches, respectively. The survey design was based on the input-process-output (IPO) model conceptual framework and used to assess students’ perceptions regarding their Zoom learning experiences at the Elder Academy of Hong Kong Metropolitan University. Thereafter, selected students were invited to participate in focus group interviews to offer more in-depth comments for analysis purposes. Statistical Product and Service Solutions software and SmartPLS were used for data analysis of the survey, and content analysis was used to summarize opinions from the focus group interviews; thus, a comprehensive picture of elderly learners’ learning experiences on Zoom is presented.

An overall positive perception was the result of elderly learners’ Zoom learning journeys, particularly in the “input” and “process” stages of the IPO model. Yet, their perception of the “learning outcomes achieved” level in the “output” stage was lower among the rest, thus strongly affected by the factors of “interactions” and “teaching” experienced by elderly learners on Zoom. Although the perception of the youngest age group was more positive, none have agreed that Zoom learning was more favourable when compared with the traditional face-to-face mode.

Given Zoom as the short-term replacement option under the COVID pandemic, this study will provide recommendations for educators/institutions to improve their design of the whole learning process for elderly learners on the Zoom platform.

The purpose of this paper is to: (1) explore existing practices of STEM faculty at a private Lebanese university and (2) assess the extent of implementation of active learning among faculty members of selected STEM departments.

The Working Group on “Integrating Modern Scientific teaching methodologies in STEM” (IM-STEM) at a tertiary university in Lebanon advocates for novel research-based methods to enhance STEM education. This pilot study investigated, using a modified version of the Wieman and Gilbert “Teaching Practices Inventory”, the current teaching methods used by faculty members in selected STEM departments.

Remarkably, most respondents admit a willingness to incorporate new teaching methods. Main findings indicate that traditional teaching via didactic lecturing remains prevalent in the STEM classrooms at the tertiary academic institution in Lebanon despite sporadic individual efforts by faculty members to utilize unconventional methods and active learning.

One major limitation that influenced the efficiency of this study is the small number of respondents (71 faculty members). More in-depth data collection combining quantitative and qualitative data should be done in future studies.

Gaining insight into the actual methods used in STEM fields in various departments can help the university management to better understand the key importance of educational reform.

The main value of this paper is to serve as a prelude for educational reform at a tertiary academic institution.

The purpose of this study is to assess the adherence to MedDiet among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, using the validated 14-item MedDiet assessment tool.

A quantitative research approach, based on the distribution of an online survey throughout the social media platforms, via networking, was the applied method. The structure of the survey included the socio-economic and demographic data along with the weekly adherence to physical activity; and the validated MedDiet assessment tool. The target population included 1,030 Lebanese adults from all provinces. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the characteristics of the sample population. Adherence to the MedDiet was determined by the Med-Diet score ≥ 9. Significant differences among the variables and the adherence to the MedDiet were examined using the chi-square test.

Mean adherence to the MedDiet was found to be lower than an adequate score among 60.8% of participants [mean adherence 8/14 < 9 (S.D. 2.2)]. Participants from North Province, those aged 45 years and above, university graduates, participants with an average income and those who exercised for a minimum of 30 min for three times/week had a higher mean of adherence compared to other groups. Higher percentage of those who exercised had adequate adherence compared to those who exercised less or did not. More than 50% of the participants consumed olive oil, vegetables, red meat, butter/margarine, sugary drinks, commercial sweets and sofrito according to recommendations. Less than 50% of the participants consumed fruits, nuts, fish and wine according to the MedDiet standards. More men consumed fruits (55.1%), wine (21%), fish (29%) and nuts (48.5%) than women according to the MedDiet recommendations; however, more women consumed legumes (69.7%) and Sofrito (88.4%) than men, in addition more women preferred consuming chicken over meat (72.3%).

The findings call for an urgent need of spreading national awareness among adult population in Lebanon to increase the adherence to MedDiet. To add, information gained from this study serve to help understanding nutritional behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, so public health authorities can start planning to save the threatened health-care system and preserve the wellness of the population.