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Accreditation represents a quality of academic standards and validation, and its impact on business schools is multifaceted. Accredited institutions are widely acknowledged for their higher quality, financial stability, stakeholder acceptance and overall growth compared to non-accredited educational institutions. Given these positive outcomes, this study aims to explore the role of accreditation in fostering financial innovation and business sustainability.

The study used a qualitative design to understand this relationship, engaging 36 leaders from Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited business schools in the Gulf Cooperation Council region as participants to collect data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic. Data were analysed using the content analysis method.

That accreditation significantly influences the business sustainability of these schools. In addition, although the direct impact of accreditation on financial innovation may not be immediately apparent, it was observed that financial inflows experienced remarkable growth after obtaining accreditation.

While the effects of accreditation have been thoroughly researched, its influence on financial innovation and business sustainability remains unexplored. This study aims to discern if accredited educational institutions excel in financial innovation and maintaining sustainable business practices. These findings have important implications as they guide university administrators to maximise the benefits of accrediting their business schools.

This paper explores the impact of interior design education and its effectiveness in the work environment for women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as they are the primary recipients of interior design programs. The analysis focuses on the role of women in interior design in the Gulf countries and the update of an interior design program curriculum as part of the continuous development program requested by the UAE Commission of Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the national Ministry of Education (MoE).

The research adopts different methodologies: an academic annual effectiveness report (AER), requirements of relevant international and regional accreditation bodies and a double round of surveys and interviews with female students, alumni, instructors and professionals.

The article collects and compares data from different perspectives, from the academic to the professional point of view, discussing challenges and opportunities for female students in contemporary interior design in the UAE. After collecting the necessary feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the bachelor’s program, a set of informed recommendations has been developed, approved and introduced during the academic year 2022/2023. At the end of the year, a second feedback from faculty and external reviewers was gathered and analyzed, providing preliminary insights into the effectiveness of the curricular revisions and highlighting the significant benefits for the female students.

The paper discusses the comprehensive and up-to-date combination of traditional elements, innovative approaches and sustainable practices, alongside the strategic planning of the United Arab Emirates, proposed to enhance female learning experiences while reinforcing their skills and competencies for their future careers.

Studies show that the twenty-first-century construction industry needs reskilling and upskilling tools to train large numbers of the workforce for better-integrated project delivery. Evidence shows that digitisation via the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technology can play a critical role in reskilling and competency demand. Attempting to use digital technology may have had some challenges. Studies about the perceived hindrances facing Nigeria's built environment professionals (BEP) reskilling and upskilling needs in the workplace via 4IR technologies are scarce. Thus, the study investigated the perceived encumbrances facing Nigeria's BEP training needs and proffered measures to improve their performance in the workplace via 4IR technologies.

The researchers engaged BEP in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. Regarding the data collection, a qualitative research design was adopted. The study achieved saturation after 32 virtual interviews. A thematic analysis was adopted for the collected data.

The study shows that using 4IR for reskilling and upskilling will enhance integrated project delivery. But the level of usage in training needs is low. Findings identified the various ways reskilling and upskilling could be achieved. Also identified are the major built environment areas that require 4IR training. Findings highlighted possible encumbrances facing the use of 4IR technologies by Nigerian BEP for reskilling and upskilling needs in the workplace and proffered feasible measures to improve 4IR usage for training needs.

The study is restricted to the perceived encumbrances and proffers measures to improve BEP reskilling and upskilling needs via 4IR technologies via a qualitative method. Future research is required to validate the findings and test the proposed framework that emerged from the study.

The study confirms that reskilling and upskilling measures are required at all skill levels and may lead to economic growth. The paper would advance Nigerian higher educational accreditation agencies and various BEP regulatory bodies to review the curriculum and incorporate 4IR as a component or module.

The thematic network analysis and proposed framework could be utilised to stimulate Nigeria's BEP reskilling and upskilling needs in the workplace via 4IR technologies. It would stir main stakeholders, especially government policymakers, to facilitate programmes to improve 4IR technologies usage.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of digital infrastructure in higher education surged. This study aims to analyze how a country’s digital capabilities influence pedagogical transitions in business schools and compare the impacts between digitally advanced and advancing countries.

The authors applied the job demands–resources model and the IMD World Digital Competition Ranking 2021 to analyze the impact of nations’ digital capabilities on the pedagogical transitions experienced by 121 business faculty members from 20 nations. The countries were categorized into digitally advanced countries and advancing countries. The snowball sampling method was used to gather data through an online survey consisting of 24 items. SPSS was used to statistically analyze the data in two stages using paired t-test and group comparison.

Significant shifts between face-to-face and online lectures occurred in both groups. Advanced countries witnessed positive shifts in discussions, presentations, oral assessment, independent learning opportunities, online teaching methods, technical support and faculties’ readiness, whereas advancing countries mainly noted alterations in professional development and communication technologies.

This study offers insights into optimizing digital capabilities and enhancing business schools’ readiness for effective pedagogical shifts during crises. Both the theoretical contribution and the findings will benefit national education policies, higher education institution leaders, scholars and educators.

This study assesses the perception of academics and practitioners of ramifications that may have impacted audit evidence quality during COVID-19 in Egypt.

A questionnaire was collected and designed regarding the factors affecting the quality of audit evidence during the COVID-19 pandemic using a five-point Likert scale, and detailed descriptive statistics and regression analyses were conducted.

The study finds that there is no significant association between social distancing (SD), changing in the economic environment (CEE), time constraint (TC) and stress on audit personnel (SAP) as repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic with the quality of audit evidence (QAE). The disruption in operational results (DOR), changes in the internal control (CIC) and the stress on client personnel (SCP) significantly affect the quality of audit evidence. Moreover, there is a significant difference between Big and non-Big Four audit firms in terms of changes in economic conditions, internal controls, disruption of operational results and time-constraint variables. The latter has significantly affected the audit evidence quality for both academics and professionals.

Due to the implementation of SD and work-from-home policies, audit firms are highly recommended to invest more in digital programs and to be more adaptable to work-from-home, which policy and enhances the effectiveness and flexibility of communication between auditors and their clients.

This paper is one of the foremost papers that provides empirical evidence for the antecedents or variables that may affect audit quality evidence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aims to develop an educational tourism demand model, particularly in respect to dynamic effects, university quality (QU) and competitor countries. Educational tourism has been identified as a new tourism sub-sector with high potential, and is thus expected to boost economic growth and sustainability.

This study reviews the literature on the determinants of educational tourism demand. Even though the existing literature is intensively discussed, mostly focusing on the educational tourism demand from an individual consumer's perspective, this study makes an innovation in line with the aggregate demand view. The study uses data that consist of the enrolment of international students from 47 home countries who studied in Malaysia from 2008 to 2017. The study utilised the dynamic panel method of analysis.

This study affirms that income per capita, educational tourism price, price of competitor countries and quality of universities based on accredited programmes and world university ranking are the determinants of educational tourism demand in both the short and the long term. Also, a dynamic effect exists in educational tourism demand.

The results imply that government should take the quality of services for existing students, price decisions and QU into account to promote the country as a tertiary education hub and achieve sustainable development.

Research on the determinants of the demand for educational tourism is rare in terms of macro data, and this study includes the roles of QU, competitor countries and dynamic effects.

The purpose of this research is two-fold: first, the researchers will create a reliable and valid hospitality senior exit survey by conducting a Delphi panel of experts and second, the researchers will pilot-test the instrument with students from a four-year university. The data will be (a) assessed to determine the retention of knowledge by four-year students, (b) used by academicians to make changes to course material and (c) used to help with the accreditation assessment process.

A Delphi panel of hospitality educators was used to validate the items, and graduating hospitality students were used to calculate reliability.

By embracing the hospitality exit survey (HES), institutions can effectively evaluate and enhance their programs. With its ability to gauge students' knowledge retention, the study findings serve as a powerful tool for shaping the future of hospitality education.

The study's findings might be somewhat limited in representing a broader range of perspectives within hospitality programs. Another limitation stems from the structure of the survey itself. The survey included numerous items requiring two inputs for each item. This format has the potential to introduce certain biases among participants.

In a positive statement, organizations can use this information to discover why employees stay and then continue to develop goals/strategies to ensure this process stays up to date. Academia is no different. Academia also wants to produce the best product, and since the students are to become the next set of leaders, these programs need to know what is successful and what needs to be adjusted.

A strategic exit interview program should 1)Uncover issues relating to human resources/students; 2) understand employees'/students' perception of the work; 3) managers'/directors' leadership style and effectiveness; 4) human resource/college/departments benchmarks and 5) improve the organization.

This research holds significant importance as it focuses on developing the senior HES and its potential utilization within hospitality programs. The HES serves as a valuable tool for these programs to evaluate the knowledge levels of their graduating students and collect data necessary for assessment and accreditation purposes.

This study examined the factors impeding the implementation of micro-credentials and accepting it as a credible source of earning professional qualifications and certifications necessary for pursuing higher education or other career goals.

The factors were identified by reflecting on the recent literature and Internet resources coupled with in-depth brainstorming with experts in the field of micro-credentials including educators, learners and employers. Two ranking methods, namely Preference Ranking for Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) and multi-objective optimization based on ratio analysis (MOORA), are used together to rank the major challenges.

The results of this study present that lack of clear definitions, ambiguous course descriptions, lack of accreditation and quality assurance, unclear remuneration policies, lack of coordination between learning hours and learning outcomes, the inadequate volume of learning, and lack of acceptance by individuals and organizations are the top-ranked and the most significant barriers in the implementation of micro-credentials.

The findings can be used by educational institutions, organizations and policymakers to better understand the issues and develop strategies to address them, making micro-credentials a more recognized form of education and qualifications.

The novelty of this study is to identify the primary factors influencing the implementation of micro-credentials from the educators', students' and employers' perspectives and to prioritize those using ranking methods such as PROMETHEE and MOORA.

This study evaluated the impact of a faculty training program on student assessment using the Kirkpatrick model.

A self-reported survey assessed 111 Saudi and non-Saudi participants' satisfaction. Subjective and objective measures (self-reported measures, assessment literacy inventory and performance-based assessment tasks) gauged participants' learning level. Pre- and post-training data were collected from 2020 to 2022.

A highly significant effect on satisfaction (>80%) and learning levels was observed, as manifested by workplace practices of student assessment (>70%, the cut-off score). Pre- and post-training comparisons of participants' satisfaction and assessment literacy scores showed significant improvements following training. Multiple regression analyses showed no significant effects for gender and educational attainment but a substantial impact of academic cluster on participants' student assessment skills.

Long-term effects of training faculty on assessment practices and student achievement will be studied at the institutional level in future research.

The current study contributes to human capital investment via faculty training on student assessment, helping them comply with assessment best practices. This assures the quality, fairness and consistency of assessment processes across disciplines in higher education institutions, enhances assessment validity and trust in educational services and may support institutional accreditation.

This study provides opportunities for sharing best practices and helps establish a community of practice. It enhances learning outcomes achievement and empowers higher education graduates with attributes necessary to succeed in the labor market. The human capital investment may have a long-term impact on overall higher education quality.

This study contributes to the scarce literature investigating the impact of training faculty from different clusters on student assessment using subjective and objective measures. It provides developing and evaluating a long-term student assessment program following the Kirkpatrick model.

Deep learning (DL) is on the rise because it can make predictions and judgments based on data that is unseen. Blockchain technologies are being combined with DL frameworks in various industries to provide a safe and effective infrastructure. The review comprises literature that lists the most recent techniques used in the aforementioned application sectors. We examine the current research trends across several fields and evaluate the literature in terms of its advantages and disadvantages.

The integration of blockchain and DL has been explored in several application domains for the past five years (2018–2023). Our research is guided by five research questions, and based on these questions, we concentrate on key application domains such as the usage of Internet of Things (IoT) in several applications, healthcare and cryptocurrency price prediction. We have analyzed the main challenges and possibilities concerning blockchain technologies. We have discussed the methodologies used in the pertinent publications in these areas and contrasted the research trends during the previous five years. Additionally, we provide a comparison of the widely used blockchain frameworks that are used to create blockchain-based DL frameworks.

By responding to five research objectives, the study highlights and assesses the effectiveness of already published works using blockchain and DL. Our findings indicate that IoT applications, such as their use in smart cities and cars, healthcare and cryptocurrency, are the key areas of research. The primary focus of current research is the enhancement of existing systems, with data analysis, storage and sharing via decentralized systems being the main motivation for this integration. Amongst the various frameworks employed, Ethereum and Hyperledger are popular among researchers in the domain of IoT and healthcare, whereas Bitcoin is popular for research on cryptocurrency.

There is a lack of literature that summarizes the state-of-the-art methods incorporating blockchain and DL in popular domains such as healthcare, IoT and cryptocurrency price prediction. We analyze the existing research done in the past five years (2018–2023) to review the issues and emerging trends.