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The study provided a structural equation modeling (SEM) of school leaderships? views of school emphasis on academic success relative to students? performances in Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015 in Science and Math in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The school emphasis was reflected by teachers, parents, and students? priority and ambition for academic success. The school questionnaire items related to school leaders? perception of teachers, parents, and students were used for the analysis (13 items). Both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were employed to construct the SEM. The SEM provided acceptable fit statistics with several significant paths. Results pointed to the significance of attitudes and behavior of teachers, parents, and students. There were significant paths from teachers to students, from parents to both students and TIMSS scores, and from students to TIMSS scores. The direct impact of the parent construct on the TIMSS scores was elaborated carefully. Implications of the study were discussed along with future research directions.

A multilevel framework was applied to investigate the effects of teacher characteristics, school environment, and district level HRM practices on teacher commitment. Drawing on the results from a public school teacher survey conducted in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2014, four forms of teacher commitment (commitment to school, to students, to teaching, and to community) were tested, which provided empirical evidence to further the development of teacher commitment as a multi-foci construct. The results of the three-level model revealed differentiating effects of some individual and organisational variables on different forms of teacher commitment and highlighted that nationality, multiple interpersonal support, and collegial relationships were the most consistent and strong variables to predict teacher commitment. This study suggested that the social and interpersonal environment of school played a significant role in influencing teacher commitment. Results were discussed in relation to improving the commitment of teachers in the empirical context of Abu Dhabi public schools.

The employment of expatriate teachers is explored here through the perspective of their organisational commitment. Drawing on the results of a public school teacher survey conducted in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2014, this study used a multilevel framework to investigate the effects of teacher characteristics, school environment, and district level human resource management policies and practices on expatriate teachers' school commitment. The results of the three-level model revealed that while teacher level attributes remained strong predictors of their school commitment, the social and organisational environment of the school greatly contributed to the organisational commitment of expatriate teachers. Interpersonal support within the school community and supportive work climates were crucial for expatriate teachers to build and sustain their commitment. Nationality was found to moderate the relationships between several workplace factors and teacher school commitment.

Abu Dhabi high school students' interest in physics in different contexts was investigated with a survey conducted in connection with the international project, The Relevance of Science Education (ROSE). The sample consisted of 2248 students in public and private schools. Means of most items that belong to the school physics context for both girls and boys were below the score of (3.0). The most interesting topics for both genders were connected with fantasy items. The least interesting items (particularly for girls) were connected with artifacts and technological processes. Girls assigned the highest scores for "why we dream" and "life and death." Boys assigned the highest scores for "inventions and discoveries" and "life outside of earth." The main message of the study is that new curricular approaches and textbooks can be developed through combining technological and human contexts. The implications for curriculum development, teacher professional development programs, and other education strategies in Abu Dhabi are discussed in light of the ROSE survey.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of many factors on student evaluation of teaching. Design/methodology/approach: The study analyzed 3,185 student evaluations of faculty from a newly accredited business program at the United Arab Emirates University using univariate and multi-analysis of variance (ANOVA and MANOVA). Findings: The findings support previous research regarding the existence of potential biasing factors. The results indicate that expected grade, actual grade, course level, class size, course timing, student gender and course subject significantly affect student evaluation of teaching. Originality/value: Comparing individual faculty ratings regardless of other factors might not be fair. Our findings support the call of other researchers that ignoring these other factors may bias or make questionable the validity of student evaluation of teaching as a means of performance appraisal of faculty. Because of the possible existence of biasing factors in SET, there is a need to supplement it with other measures of teaching effectiveness. (Contains 16 tables.)

The objective of the study was to identify the factors associated with the subjective well-being of older adults in Abu Dhabi when happiness is taken as the dependent variable. In the present research, a framework based on theoretical models was developed in which older adult's happiness was seen in a synergistic relationship and was associated with many other variables related to various domains in the social system. The sample consisted of 1,004 older adults aged 60 and above, who participated in the First Abu Dhabi General Social Survey administered in 2018. Many subjective well-being variables were considered. Path analysis was used to develop a model that incorporated the five following variables directly affecting the happiness of older adults: housing satisfaction, satisfaction with family life, satisfaction with friendships, life satisfaction, satisfaction with surrounding environment, and some psychological feelings. The study highlighted all direct and indirect associations. Further analysis of variance revealed the associations of gender, marital status, and education attainment. Implications of the study were highlighted along with future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of retirement is rarely explored in the context of the Middle Eastern and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This study drew on data from a large-scale survey of retirees in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a universal welfare state characterized by the persistence of the traditional male-breadwinner model and gender roles, to analyze the determinants of retirement timing and post-retirement work. Multi-level regressions were performed to explore the effects of individual, family, institutional, and social-economic factors. The study revealed that Emirati females tended to retire earlier than men to fulfill their domestic duties and informal caregiving roles, rather than to retire together with their spouse. Additionally, early retirement incentives offered by Abu Dhabi pension systems appeared to attract employees into early retirement. On the other hand, securing more financial resources and reduced sense of belonging in society were among the most significant predictors of post-retirement job searching motivations among Emirati retirees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how institutions of higher education might operationalize faculty performance evaluation in terms of research, teaching, and university and community service. An analytic hierarchy process model is developed and presented, allowing decision makers to couple performance evaluation and academic reward/awards and recognitions offered by institutions of higher education, and provides an objective way to compare faculty members. Weights are provided for each of the criteria in the evaluation process for a more objective outcome. Reward/award systems might include promotion decisions, merit pay, tenure, long-term contracts, and annual reward/awards of excellence in research, teaching or service. The model might be used to make judgment on the qualification of candidates for such systems, and could be used on the department level, college level, or university-wide level. In addition, the model could rank faculty members within each discipline or major. An illustrative example is provided of the model at the United Arab Emirates University. (Contains 4 figures and 6 tables.)

Background: Containment of the COVID‐19 pandemic has been impaired by the denial and defiance of preventive recommendations. Aims: We aimed to study the attitudes toward COVID‐19 social measures among laypersons and healthcare professionals. Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional study in the United Arab Emirates using a self‐administered online questionnaire. Both healthcare workers and laypersons were actively recruited. In addition to sociodemographic variables, the questionnaire included questions on anxiety, knowledge, and defiance related to COVID‐19. Results: A total of 615 individuals with a mean age of 32 years (SD, 12) participated. Females comprised 69% and healthcare workers constituted 60% of the study sample. Among laypersons, over 42% reported having social gatherings at home, and 44% admitted to visiting crowded places. More than half of the respondents felt increased anxiety. Previous COVID‐19 infection did not affect attitudes or anxiety levels. Knowledge about COVID‐19 was higher among those who were more educated (r =.21). Healthcare workers had lower anxiety than laypersons (p =.002). COVID‐19 anxiety was higher among older persons and did not decrease with more knowledge. COVID‐19 defiance was higher among younger male respondents from larger households and did not correlate with knowledge. Multivariate analysis showed more defiant attitudes at younger ages. Conclusions: Anxiety‐related to the COVID‐19 pandemic is more common in older individuals, whereas younger persons were more likely to deny and defy prevention recommendations despite having knowledge of viral transmission. Voluntary compliance by young individuals requires an engaging communication strategy to generate more compassionate attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limitations of life-support interventions, by either withholding or withdrawing support, are integrated parts of intensive care unit (ICU) activities and are ethically acceptable. The end-of-life legal aspects and practices in United Arab Emirates ICUs are rarely mentioned in the medical literature. The objective of this study was to examine the current practice of limiting futile life-sustaining therapies in our ICU, modalities for implementing of these decisions, and documentations in dying critically ill patients. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective observational study conducted at our ICU. We studied all ICU patients who died from September 2008 to February 2009. Patients' baseline demo-graphics, past medical problems, diagnosis on admission to ICU, and decision to withhold, withdraw and their modalities were collected. Results: The electronic medical records of 67 patients were reviewed. The commonest method of limiting therapy was no escalation 53.6%. Interventions were withheld in 41.5%. "Do not resuscitate" order was documented in only 16.3%. The commonest method of documenting limitation of therapy was discussion with the family and documenting the prognosis and futility of additional therapy (73.3%). Patients who died early (<48 hrs) compared to patients who died late (>48 hrs) of ICU admission received terminal cardiopulmonary resuscitation more frequently (P < 0.007), had less frequent prognosis documentation (P < 0.009), and had more vasopressors administered (P < 0.006). Conclusion: Withholding therapy after discussion with the family was the preferred mode of limiting therapy in a dying patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research studies have primarily examined the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in one country or in developed and western countries. This paper attempts to answer two questions of particular significance that remain only partially answered in the information systems literature. The first question asks: do TAM relationships hold good for a group of countries of diverse national cultures? The second question investigates: can national culture explain differences in TAM relationships across countries? To answer the above two questions, a structural equation modeling approach was applied using computer-related data collected from college students in the USA and two countries of non-Western cultures: Chile, and the United Arab Emirates. The research findings imply that for the group of three countries, all relationships among the components of an extended TAM that incorporates individual computer knowledge as an external variable were supported. In addition, national culture moderates four of the TAM relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which determines the efficacy of modified customer-satisfaction index (ACSU) model for the education sector in Abu Dhabi. The researchers use econometric model with measures of an index of satisfaction and related indices for latent variables to measure satisfaction levels of parents. The study reveals that improving the performance of quality components of school's services would help boost trust in school management, as well as helping to retain students.

Features the impact of the decline of gross national product on building scientific capacity in United Arab Emirates. Emergence of scientific infrastructure; Growth of the number of full-time researchers; Increase of the expenditure on Research&Development. INSETS: Still open for business.;Science veiled in secrecy..