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Ibrahim M Abdulbaqi, Yusrida Darwis, Reem Abou Assi, Nurzalina Abdul Karim Khan School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang, Malaysia Introduction: Colchicine is used for the treatment of gout, pseudo-gout, familial Mediterranean fever, and many other illnesses. Its oral administration is associated with poor bioavailability and severe gastrointestinal side effects. The drug is also known to have a low therapeutic index. Thus to overcome these drawbacks, the transdermal delivery of colchicine was investigated using transethosomal gels as potential carriers.Methods: Colchicine-loaded transethosomes (TEs) were prepared by the cold method and statistically optimized using three sets of 24 factorial design experiments. The optimized formulations were incorporated into Carbopol 940® gel base. The prepared colchicine-loaded transethosomal gels were further characterized for vesicular size, dispersity, zeta potential, drug content, pH, viscosity, yield, rheological behavior, and ex vivo skin permeation through Sprague Dawley rats’ back skin.Results: The results showed that the colchicine-loaded TEs had aspherical irregular shape, nanometric size range, and high entrapment efficiency. All the formulated gels exhibited non-Newtonian plastic flow without thixotropy. Colchicine-loaded transethosomal gels were able to significantly enhance the skin permeation parameters of the drug in comparison to the non-ethosomal gel.Conclusion: These findings suggested that the transethosomal gels are promising carriers for the transdermal delivery of colchicine, providing an alternative route for drug administration. Keywords: transethosomes, ethosomal nanocarriers, colchicine, factorial design, skin permeation, rheology

Ibrahim M Abdulbaqi, Yusrida Darwis, Nurzalina Abdul Karim Khan, Reem Abou Assi, Arshad A Khan School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia Abstract: Ethosomal systems are novel lipid vesicular carriers containing a relatively high percentage of ethanol. These nanocarriers are especially designed for the efficient delivery of therapeutic agents with different physicochemical properties into deep skin layers and across the skin. Ethosomes have undergone extensive research since they were invented in 1996; new compounds were added to their initial formula, which led to the production of new types of ethosomal systems. Different preparation techniques are used in the preparation of these novel carriers. For ease of application and stability, ethosomal dispersions are incorporated into gels, patches, and creams. Highly diverse in vivo models are used to evaluate their efficacy in dermal/ transdermal delivery, in addition to clinical trials. This article provides a detailed review of the ethosomal systems and categorizes them on the basis of their constituents to classical ethosomes, binary ethosomes, and transethosomes. The differences among these systems are discussed from several perspectives, including the formulation, size, ζ-potential (zeta potential), entrapment efficiency, skin-permeation properties, and stability. This paper gives a detailed review on the effects of ethosomal system constituents, preparation methods, and their significant roles in determining the final properties of these nanocarriers. Furthermore, the novel pharmaceutical dosage forms of ethosomal gels, patches, and creams are highlighted. The article also provides detailed information regarding the in vivo studies and clinical trials conducted for the evaluation of these vesicular systems. Keywords: ethosomes, transdermal, lipid-based vesicles, delivery systems

The purpose of the present study is to examine when and how leaders’ emotional intelligence translates into particular work outcomes for followers, namely job satisfaction, turnover intention and organizational commitment. Specifically, the study aims to identify the mediating mechanism between leaders’ emotional intelligence and followers’ outcomes, and the boundary conditions associated with this relationship. Accordingly, this study examines “emotional contagion” as a moderator variable that influences leader affect and follower effect in order to measure the participants’ susceptibility to emotional contagion. Accordingly, if leaders can communicate positive affect to their followers, then the followers’ positive effect should result in more positive attributions of leadership and better organizational outcomes. The findings of the current study suggest that emotional intelligence plays a significant role in leaders’ success in the workplace: leaders’ emotional intelligence and affect at work relate to their subordinates’ work attitudes and behaviours. The study hypotheses are based on Affective Events Theory and emotional contagion theory, which provides an in-depth understanding of the role of leaders’ emotional intelligence in the Arab world, particularly in the UAE context. A quantitative methodology is used to test the hypotheses and to answer the research questions. The data are acquired from organizational leaders and their employees in various UAE government and public sector organizations. The study contributes to the literature on emotional intelligence and in the UAE context by testing the extent to which leaders’ emotional intelligence engenders negative and positive affect in followers, which subsequently impacts on followers’ work attitudes and behaviours.

The study is aimed to identify the role of different factors affecting knowledge transfer behaviour between at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which is UAE National Oil Company. Extending the existing work on knowledge transfer, the researcher has incorporated the source, recipients, and process-related factors to examine knowledge transfer behaviour among consultants and clients. The moderating role of the learning management system was also analyzed. The study follows a quantitative approach to test the hypothesized relationships and the sample consists of 446 employees from ADNOC Company. Findings of the study suggest that there is a significant direct impact of independent recipient-oriented factors of absorptive capacity and motivation to learn, on the knowledge transfer behaviour. Moreover, it presents evidence to support indirect impact including partial mediation of arduousness of the relationship between the impact of recipients’ motivation to learn and knowledge transfer behaviour, full mediation of arduousness of the relationship between the impact of sources’ credibility and knowledge transfer behaviour and a significant moderation impact of learning management system on the relationship between recipients’ absorptive capacity, in context of this study. Apart from the above-mentioned findings, the study also presents contextual non-findings. These non-findings include an insignificant but negative impact of sources’ credibility on the knowledge transfer behaviour and an insignificant impact on the recipients’ retentive capacity on the organizational knowledge transfer behaviour, in terms of direct impact. The study has also presented an indirect impact on the non-finding of insignificant moderating impact. This non-finding was in terms of insignificant moderation of LMS on the relationship between recipients’ retentive capacity and organizational knowledge transfer behaviour.

Employees’ creativity in any organization is vital to its successful performance and growth. Most researchers have studied creativity using a uni-dimensional approach like work culture, and leadership support. With the new vision of the UAE and its strategy of development in the coming years, more studies about creativity and creative behavior are needed in this region. This research is unique as it studies the creative behavior of government employees from a holistic view within work and outwork factors. Accordingly, this research identifies and examines the impact of four antecedents on the government employee’s creative behavior. It examines out work antecedents like individual disposition, educational background, social network, and in work antecedent like work culture as such combination should shed light fir further studies to combine both factors when studying creativity and creative behavior. The four antecedents (individual disposition, educational background, social network, and work culture) with nine constructs (openness to experience, cognitive style, self-learning, problem-solving, parental support, access to a social network, leadership support, job complexity, and co-workers support) were chosen based on the review of the literature and the need of understanding how creative behavior is being practiced by employees, as such antecedents play a major role in exerting creativity. The sample of the study was 350 employees and their 52 supervisors that were selected from nine government and semi-government entities mainly from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The results of the study showed that all antecedents have a positive impact with different weights on the individual's creative behavior as an employee of government entities. In specific, openness to experience, self-learning, problem-solving, access to social networks, leadership support, and job complexity have shown a positive relationship with creative behavior, while parental suppor

The process through which new employees acquire the knowledge, skills, and values important for becoming active organizational members is called organizational socialization. Scholars of organizational socialization believe that newcomers can learn about their organizational roles and achieve successful socialization by interacting with more experienced members in the organization. This study explores the relationship between socialization factors in the organizational context and newcomer socialization outcomes, and how social capital impacts this relationship. We analyze how effective the socialization process is in building a social network. We develop an integrated social capital model of the organizational socialization process that throws light on how socialization processes, namely orientation programs, institutionalized tactics (social tactics), and social networks (their status, size, density, range, and ties strength) affect newcomer socialization outcomes, both proximal outcome (role clarity and social integration) and distal outcome (turnover intention and job satisfaction). The model also examines the moderating role of proactive personality between organizational socialization factors and short-term socialization outcomes. The study sample consists of 154 newcomers from different occupations and sectors (governmental, private, and semi-governmental) in the UAE, specifically from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Within a two-wave time-lagged research design, the participants were required to complete two questionnaires in the first 16 weeks of joining their organization. Most of the participants had spent less than one year in the organization. Structural equation modeling indicates that social networks played a partial role in newcomer socialization outcomes. The practical and theoretical implications of our findings are also discussed.

This thesis investigates the role of ad content in influencing citizens’ intention to use mobile government (mGovernment) services in the UAE. mGovernment delivers services through the use of mobile devices to citizens anytime and anywhere in order to increase citizen happiness and satisfaction. mGovernment has been launched as a strategic initiative by the UAE government, and one of the most important success factors for the initiative is increasing the number of citizens who use mGovernment services. Previous research has focused mainly on the factors driving technology acceptance and user intention to use self-service technologies. In contrast, the present research focuses on increasing the intention to use mGovernment services by delivering influential promotional messages that impact use intention. Towards understanding the influence of ad content on intention, several theories will be utilized including technology acceptance, advertising, and persuasion perspectives. These theories explain individuals’ interpretations or feelings toward the advertising messages and identify factors that determine logical or emotional participant response to ad content. The findings from this thesis will contribute to the overall understanding of mGovernment services, shedding light on how government organizations can develop promotion strategies that have the potential to increase the number of mGovernment users. This thesis may also serve as the basis for future research in the field of mGovernment by clarifying the role of persuasion and emotions in promoting mobile government services.

Scholars have relied on various approaches and methods to explain why organisations enter into a merger relationship, and how organisational initiatives impact employees' work outcomes. However, minimal attention has been directed towards the study of the relationship between Organisational Justice (OJ) and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) in the post-merger period. The objective of this study was to examine how Organisational Justice affects Organisational Citizenship Behaviour in the context of mergers in the UAE. The study relied on a quantitative research method, social exchange mechanisms, and organisational justice theory to achieve the intended objectives. A total of 15 hypotheses were identified on the basis of the research model. Data was gathered from 323 employees working in merged organisations in the UAE through online questionnaires. Structural Regression (SR) modelling via AMOS 23 was used to test the direct relationship hypotheses. The study showed that perceived organisational justice affected organisational citizenship behaviour through a positive social exchange mechanism. Through the two positive Social Exchange Mechanisms, LMX was found to mediate the relationship between perceived Organisational Justice (Procedural Justice and Distributive Justice) and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) but not that of Interactional Justice and OCB-O. Also, Perceived Organisational Support (POS) mediated the relationship between perceived Organisational Justice (Procedural Justice, Distributive Justice and Interactional Justice) and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB-O and OCB-S). The Perceived Organisational Obstruction (POO), the negative Social Exchange Mechanism, did not mediate the relationship between perceived Organisational Justice (Procedural Justice, Interactional Justice and Distributive Justice) and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB-O and OCBS). We also found the moderating effect of Supervisor’s Organisati

In today’s economic environment, intense competition in the corporate world has prompted organizations to focus on creating and maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of enterprise information management capability (EIMC) on SCA. This study focuses on EIMC as An essential organizational dynamic capability and empirically examines the relationship between EIMC and SCA, both directly and indirectly, via two mediators: knowledge management (KM) and total quality management (TQM). This study used the theory of dynamic capability (DC) as the theoretical framework. Four constructs (EIMC, KM, TQM, and SCA) were developed and nine research hypotheses were examined. A mixed methods research design was used to collect primary data. The data was collected from twelve (12) semi-structured interviews with twelve (12) decision-makers from different organizations in the UAE. In addition, an online cross-sectional survey produced 144 responses from middle-level managers in UAE organizations. The survey data was analyzed using a partial least squares (PLS) approach to structural equation modeling. The results of the PLS measurement model suggest that the items used to measure the constructs were valid and reliable, and the results of the structural equation model supported every one of the research hypotheses. Moreover, the qualitative interviews’ data also supported every one of the research hypotheses. Therefore, the study results suggest that EIMC impacts positively on organizations’ SCA, both directly and indirectly. The indirect relationship is mediated through KM and TQM, and is serially mediated via both KM and TQM. These findings are generally consistent with the extant literature and support the notion of direct and indirect relationships between EIMC and SCA. However, the literature to date has paid little attention to these relationships. This research contributes to the knowledge c

The aim of this research is to examine the impact of leadership styles on organizational learning in health care context at Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) in Al Ain region. The study uses a quantitative methodology to answer the research questions. The findings suggest that both transactional and transformational leadership styles are associated with organizational learning. The transformational leadership is linked with organizational learning through learning goal orientation and trust in leaders whereas transactional leadership style is linked with organizational learning through performance goal orientation. The research findings can help senior executives to put strategic plans for their organizational learning development. Also, the research is expected to provide a baseline for health care policy makers on how they can initiate and create a context of organizational learning through enhancements of the leadership role.

Human capital development is one of the most important enablers for any organization to achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. Thus, organisations are interested in adopting various initiatives and mechanisms to support the development of human capital, such as transformational leadership style, knowledge management practices and building organisational culture. This study intends to examine the mediating effect of knowledge management and organisational culture on the relationships between transformational leadership and human capital development in the Abu Dhabi emirate. This study used a structured questionnaire to collect data from a large sample of employees drawn from government and semi-government entities in the Abu Dhabi Emirate. The questionnaire consists of two parts. The inquiries of the first part based on Bass and Avolio's (1995) MLQ Fonn 5x-Short to measure and identify the leadership factors incorporated in their model. The inquiries of the second part investigated the various aspects of knowledge management and organisational culture, which might have significant effects on human capital development in an organisation. The human capital development as perceived by respondents is also measured using a separate scale. The quantitative analysis of the questionnaire data was conducted to examine the factor structure of the variables measured, whereas the structural equation model (SEM) estimation tested the hypotheses of the study. The generated results of this study revealed that transformational leadership as perceived by respondents has positive effects on the human capital development of subordinates. The findings also indicated knowledge management and organisational culture partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and the human capital development. The implications of the study findings on theory, practices, and policymaking are providing a roadmap to organisations to put much concern on developing leaders

In-situ polymerization technique was used to prepare epoxy/organo-montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposites by three different mixing sequence methods. The mechanical and morphological properties of epoxy/ OMMT nanocompositeE were studied by flexural tests, fracture toughness (SENB), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The flexural modulus of epoxy was improved significantly by the incorporation of OMMT. This is attributed to the reinforcement and exfoliation/intercalation of the OMMT. The XRD results showed the formation of exfoliated structure in the epoxy/OMMT nanocomposites. Sequence of mixing influenced the dispersion and intercalation/exfoliation of the OMMT in the epoxy matrix. Appropriate mixing sequence should be selected in order to achieve better exfoliation of OMMT and higher flexural modulus and strength of the epoxy nanaocomposites. In this study, computer aided statistical methods of experimental design (Response Surface Methodology, RSM) was used to investigate the process variables on the flexural properties of epoxy/OMMT nanocomposites. Speed of mechanical stirrer, post-curing time and post-curing temperature were chosen as process variables in the design experimental. Results showed that the speed of mechanical stirrer post-curing time and post-curing temperature were able to influence the flexural modulus and flexural yield stress of epoxy/OMMT nanocomposites.