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Backgrounds: The primary aim of this study was two-fold: to assess the reliability of the Leuven Embedded Figure Test (L-EFT) in Saudi Arabia (Study 1), and to explore regional differences in independent-interdependent cognitive styles among adults in various regions of Saudi Arabia (Study 2)., Method: Both Study-1 and Study-2 were structured cross-sectionally. Study 1 involved 360 participants (97 % female) with a median age of 22.51 ± 3.45. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and the L-EFT task. The mean response time for accurate responses, speed-accuracy trade-off, Cronbach's alpha reliability, Guttman split-half coefficient, and 2 × 2 ANOVA (to examine the influence of specialty and age) were evaluated using SPSS 24. In Study 2, the authors compared these evaluations between residents of Riyadh (60 participants) and Al-Kharj (60 participants) in Saudi Arabia., Results: In Study-1, the L-EFT demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties (α = 0.79, Guttman-split-half = 0.72), with item-test correlations for all items exceeding 0.15. Study-1 found no significant impact of academic specialty on mean response time, regardless of their major (scientific studies:M = 6.68, SD = 2.54) humanities:M = 6.81, SD = 2.11). In Study 2, no significant differences were observed in mean response times between individuals residing in Riyadh and those in Al-Kharj [t(112) = 1.68, p = 0.09, 95 % CI (-0.06, 0.73)]., Conclusion: The scale demonstrates suitability for use in the Saudi Arabian population. However, further research is needed to compare L-EFT scores across different cultures. Moreover, future studies could also explore the influence of various socio-cultural factors on field-dependent-independent cognitive styles., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Categorizing national football teams by level is challenging because there is no standard of reference. Therefore, the self-organizing feature mapping network is used to solve this problem. In this paper, appropriate sample data were collected and an appropriate self-organizing feature mapping network model was built. After training, we obtained the classification results of 4 grades of 16 major Asian football national teams. As for the classification results, it is different to normalize the input data and not to normalize the input data. The classification results accord with our subjective cognition, which indicates the rationality of self-organizing feature mapping network in solving the classification problem of national football teams. In addition, the paper makes a detailed analysis of the classification results of the Chinese team and compares the gap between the Chinese team and the top Asian teams. It also analyses the impact of the normalization of input data on the classification results, taking Saudi Arabia as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether visitors' seeking and escaping motivations influence the cognitive evaluation of a non-traditional festival in Saudi Arabia, which in turn leads to the sense of joy and subsequent word-of-mouth publicity. In Saudi Arabia, leisure and tourism opportunities are limited and many Saudis have a strong desire for new leisure experiences. Although the government and event organizers have made efforts to provide visitors with unconventional experiences at non-tradition-based festivals, these festivals have not attracted many Saudi Arabian visitors.Design/methodology/approach A quantitative methodology was used based on the on-site data collected from 458 visitors attending the Abha summer festival in Saudi Arabia. A structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships among seeking motivations, escaping motivations, cognitive evaluation, sense of joy and word-of-mouth.Findings The result reveals that two seeking motivations (i.e. food and entertainment) and two escaping motivations (i.e. diversion and escape) influence cognitive evaluation, which in turn influences their sense of joy and ultimately word-of-mouth. However, novelty, a seeking motivation, does not influence cognitive evaluation.Research limitations/implications The authors limited the study of seeking and escaping motivations to one non-traditional festival in Saudi Arabia. Further studies can use multiple festivals to increase generalizability to non-traditional festivals in Saudi Arabia. Another extension of this study would be to examine these motivations in both traditional and non-traditional festivals in Saudi Arabia to assess to what extent visitors' seeking and escaping motivations are fulfilled in each type of festival.Practical implications Diversion motivation is the most important factor for non-traditional festival organizers to consider in developing strategies to attract more visitors in Saudi Arabia.Originality/value This paper is the first that applies Iso-Ahola's motivation theory and the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion in the non-traditional festival setting in Saudi Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to identify the effect of a flipped classroom approach designed according to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning on the academic achievements of eighth‐grade students (aged 14 years) in Saudi Arabia in computer science. To this end, a quasi‐experimental design was used, with a sample of 67 students; 33 students were assigned to the experimental group, whereas 34 comprised the control group. The experimental group was subjected to the flipped classroom approach, whereas the control group was given direct instruction. To measure student achievements, an instrument that measures cognitive skills based on Revised Bloom's taxonomy levels was designed. Findings revealed a positive effect on the experimental group's achievement levels with respect to Bloom's higher order thinking skills, that is, applying, analysing, and evaluating. No difference was found between the two groups in terms of academic achievements at the remembering and understanding levels of Bloom's taxonomy. Moreover, learners with low prior knowledge showed a higher improvement in academic achievements compared with those with high prior knowledge. This corresponds to the assumption of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning that learners with low prior knowledge would benefit from its principles more than learners with high prior knowledge. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Increasingly, K‐12 teachers around the world are using the flipped classroom approach (FCA) with their students.Previous studies have shown mixed results on the effects of flipped learning on academic achievements.Scholarly research is limited regarding the use of cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML) as a theoretical framework for designing instructional videos in flipped learning.Several flipped learning studies have not provided data of their outcomes or assessment as per level of cognition. What this paper adds: This study presents an improved approach for flipped learning by integrating CTML with flipped learning.A comparison was conducted for the effects of FCA designed according to CTML on the academic achievements of students with high and low prior knowledge.A proposed model has been introduced for the application of flipped learning in K‐12 education. Implications for practice and/or policy: Designing instructional videos in flipped learning should be based on a theoretical framework.Flipped learning research needs to employ Bloom's taxonomy to understand the outcomes or assessments according to cognition levels.Adopting FCA designed according to CTML may be more important for teachers whose students clearly suffer from poor academic achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In language learning and teaching circles, intercultural competence has been gaining ground and is increasingly seen as inseparable from linguistic competence. This paper calls for developing intercultural communicative competence among Saudi students majoring in English with specific reference to cognition, affect, and behavior. This is done through an investigation of the cultural contents of the current syllabi taught to EFL BA level students at one of Saudi Arabia's leading universities. This investigation underscores a need to integrate a number of specific intercultural teaching/learning activities into the syllabus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Integrating family-centered care (FCC) and developmental care (DC) principles in neonatal care settings may improve neurodevelopmental outcomes for high-risk neonates. However, the combined impact of FCC and DC has been underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the effects of integrated FCC and DC on neurodevelopment and length of hospital stay in high-risk neonates. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre–post study was conducted among 200 high-risk neonates (<32 weeks gestation or <1500 g) admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in Saudi Arabia. The intervention group (n = 100) received integrated FCC and DC for 6 months. The control group (n = 100) received standard care. Neurodevelopment was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-III. Length of stay and readmissions were extracted from medical records. Results: The intervention group showed significant improvements in cognitive, motor, and language scores compared to controls (p < 0.05). The intervention group had a 4.3-day reduction in the mean length of stay versus a 1.4-day reduction in controls (p = 0.02). Integrated care independently predicted higher cognitive scores (p = 0.001) and shorter stays (p = 0.006) in regression models. Conclusion: Integrating FCC and DC in neonatal care enhances neurodevelopmental outcomes and reduces hospitalization for high-risk neonates compared to standard care. Implementing relationship-based, developmentally supportive models is critical for optimizing outcomes in this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining children's physical activity levels is crucial to preventing obesity and improving their health and well-being. However, achieving the recommended daily level of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity can be difficult for children with disabilities. Moreover, children with disabilities spend less time engaging in physical activity than their typically developing peers. This study aimed to assess the personal, environmental, and social determinants of physical activity among children with disabilities. This quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey of a convenient sample, including 125 parents of children with disabilities aged between 5 and 18 years from different regions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Approximately 40.8% of the participants were aged between 41 and 50 years, and 57.6% (the participants and friends of their children) did not engage in regular exercise. Statistically significant differences were observed between the perception of children's health and physical activity summary scores and the engagement of children's friends in physical activity and physical activity summary scores. Efforts should be made to reinforce parents' perceptions of their children's health regarding physical activity and to support the social determinants of physical activity that ensure their children's friends' engagement. Specialized interventional studies are needed to support parents with children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetes is a serious medical condition that may cause blindness, renal failure and amputation of the lower limbs, stroke and myocardial infarction. The global incidence of diabetes increases continuously. The self‐management of diabetes can be problematic and burdensome, especially if employed individuals choose not to reveal their illness. The workplace has been highlighted as an important element that may impact how employed individuals, diagnosed with diabetes and managed their illness. Aim: To describe the influence of diabetes disclosure on the cognitive, physical ability and diabetes self‐management of employed adults with diabetes in Saudi Arabia. Design: A descriptive correlational study. Methods: This study used a self‐administered questionnaire, including the Checklist Individual Strength and Perceived Diabetes Self‐Management Scale, for data collection. The sample size was 250 employed adults with diabetes. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Spearman's correlation coefficient and bivariate analysis. Results: A significant correlation was found between diabetes self‐management and support from co‐workers (r =.55, p <.05), and the employees who received more support from their co‐workers were able to perform diabetes self‐management. The results also indicate that employees who received support at their workplace reported improved concentration, motivation and activity (r =.41, p <.05). Conclusion: It is essential for top management and policymakers to implement supportive programmes in the workplace, and considering a constant, not rotating, work schedule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]