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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of environmental and cultural factors on the benchmarking implementation process and management control within organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). By exploring the complex interplay of these factors, the study aims to uncover how environmental considerations and cultural dynamics shape the effectiveness and outcomes of benchmarking initiatives in the UAE's unique business environment. The research seeks to provide valuable insights for organizations in the UAE to optimize their benchmarking practices and enhance their overall performance and competitiveness.

The study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to comprehensively explore the influence of environmental and cultural factors on benchmarking implementation and management control in the UAE. This study draws on the integration of two main theoretical perspectives: institutional theory and contingency theory. This is the first attempt to integrate these different frameworks in a single study. The study presents a case study of Emirates Industrial City (EIC), which has been recognized by global industries for boosting efficiency, cost control, quality and overall operations. The quality method known as benchmarking maximizes the potential for organizations to achieve optimal levels of production efficiency.

This paper provides compelling evidence that the benchmarking implementation process and management control in the UAE are significantly influenced by the complex interplay of environmental and cultural factors. By recognizing the importance of environmental sustainability and cultural values in guiding benchmarking practices, UAE organizations can optimize their performance and competitiveness. The findings contribute valuable insights to the existing literature, offering practical implications for UAE organizations seeking to leverage benchmarking as a strategic tool for growth and continuous improvement. The findings reveal that UAE organizations incorporating environmental considerations into benchmarking practices demonstrate a proactive approach to sustainability, aligning their goals with eco-friendly practices. Cultural influences, including a culture of collaboration and openness to external learning, contribute to successful benchmarking adoption and knowledge sharing. Moreover, the study highlights that the integration of benchmarking outcomes into the management control process positively correlates with organizational performance. UAE organizations that leverage benchmarking data for decision-making and performance evaluation exhibit higher levels of competitiveness and efficiency.

This paper has important implications for organizations in the UAE seeking to optimize their benchmarking practices and management control. The study's findings can guide organizations in aligning their benchmarking efforts with environmental sustainability goals and cultural values to enhance performance and competitiveness. Understanding the influence of environmental and cultural factors on benchmarking adoption and implementation allows organizations to foster a benchmarking culture that embraces knowledge sharing and learning. Managers can tailor their approaches to accommodate cultural nuances and enhance the effectiveness of benchmarking initiatives.

This paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge in several ways. Integrated approach: By examining the complex interplay of environmental and cultural factors, this study takes an integrated approach of institutional and contingency theories to understanding their influence on benchmarking implementation and management control. It offers a comprehensive view of how these factors interact to shape organizational practices and outcomes. UAE context: The study focuses specifically on the UAE, providing insights into benchmarking practices within the unique environmental and cultural context of the nation. This research addresses a gap in the literature by examining the influence of these factors in a distinct business environment.

The complex interaction between the gut flora and central nervous systems made probiotics one promising natural candidate for the management and treatment of depression. Hence, the purpose of this paper was to assess the knowledge, patterns of consumption and attitudes of patients with depression toward probiotics.

In this cross-sectional study, and through simple random sampling, 200 adults who were diagnosed with various depressive symptoms were selected. A link to a self-reported survey was sent to them with the aim of collecting sociodemographic data, assessing participants’ attitudes and knowledge toward probiotic consumption, and measuring their depression status via the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).

A total of 164 participants (82%) provided usable responses. Approximately 55% of participants had moderate depression (PHQ-9). Participants (22.6%) tend to comply with their psychiatrists’ advice regarding probiotics more than other health specialists’ advice (p = 0.04). Only 59 (36%) had knowledge about probiotics and believed that probiotics should be consumed regularly and not only after an antibiotic course. However, many tended to follow marketing tricks and were willing to buy the most expensive and advertised probiotic products. Participants showed some differences in their attitude and knowledge toward probiotics according to symptoms severity; however, the differences were insignificant (p = 0.88).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is believed to be the first investigation assessing the probiotics’ knowledge, patterns of consumption and attitude of patients with various depression symptoms in Bahrain. The findings of this study may help improve the well-being of depressive patients by addressing the probiotic knowledge gap among them, expand the market of probiotics and enrich nutritional psychiatry literature.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic compelled people to spend most of their time at home to avoid spreading the virus, signifying staying away from offices, schools and marketplaces and where many people congregate. This situation put enormous pressure on residential buildings, which functioned as alternative spaces to schools and offices. This paper aims to investigate the impacts of home-based online classes because of the COVID-19 outbreak on residential buildings in Saudi Arabia.

This study collected population-representative survey data from 324 eligible respondents using an online questionnaire and conducts descriptive and Spearman's correlation analysis using the SPSS 28.0 program.

This study found that the use of space during COVID-19, home-based learning space comfort and home-based online learning perception affected home-based online space requirements during the school lockdowns. Higher school levels, learning space comfort levels, types of education and number of school-aged children in a house were correlated with various types of discomfort experienced during home-based online learning. Lastly, the parents' preference for their children to continue online studies was correlated with the adverse effects of online learning and the possible advantages of online learning.

Lack of studies about the impact of home-based online classes on residential space requirement and use resulted in insufficient investigation and documentation of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on home-based learning environments. This research contributes to the literature on the factors affecting spatial requirement during emergencies and how significant this relationship is.

Higher education institutions like Effat University play a critical role in realizing the ambitious goals of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which emphasizes adaptability, agility, and sustainability in the educational sector. With the higher education landscape undergoing rapid transformation globally, institutions are compelled to rethink curricula and align more closely with the changing needs of students, industry, and the government. Effat University, situated at the confluence of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), shows adaptability, agility, and sustainability in the higher education sector. At the heart of Effat’s mission lies the IQRA core values, anchoring its academic and administrative endeavors and fostering graduates who are holistic, ethically grounded, and attuned to global challenges. This book chapter investigates Effat University’s distinctive approach, fortified by innovative initiatives, transformative leadership, expansive research activities, and the unwavering IQRA principles, as it positions itself to further the goals of Vision 2030 and the SDGs. Effat’s research, diverse in its scope and impact, ranges from cutting-edge technological advancements to interdisciplinary collaborations that address both local and global challenges.

Using a mixed-method approach and drawing from internal data and insights from the university’s archives the chapter underscores Effat University’s commitment to innovation, interdisciplinary education, research excellence, international collaborations, and sustainable practices, all harmonized by the guiding IQRA values. These concerted efforts resonate deeply with Vision 2030 and the SDGs, setting the stage for sustained academic excellence and solid foundation for future academic and societal progress.

In a pandemic framework (COVID-19), this chapter explores the impact of the global economy and socio-cultures concerning three axes: recreational, tourism, and hospitality. Although we slowly see an economic revival, it is well known that this sector of study is very susceptible to being affected by the context of nations. Following restrictions and measures taken by governments around the world to reduce the number of cases of coronavirus infections, many nations closed their borders, affecting international travel and by 2020 tourism had been reduced to the near cessation of operations due to the imminent fear of this poorly studied disease, and the service sector was negatively affected. It should be added that, according to the World Tourism Organization's projections, a decrease of between 20 and 30% is forecast for 2020 compared to the previous year.

The purpose of this paper is to explore external factors: organization technical support, organization administrative support, organization infrastructure and resources, and organization ICT policy’s effect on the commitment in use of technology among the faculty staff Hail university, Saudi Arabia.

A cross-sectional survey approach was used to collect data. A sample of 300 fulltime employees, having administrative and teaching responsibilities participated using a self-completion questionnaire. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), correlation and multiple regressions to determine the impact of external factors on the commitment in use of technology.

Overall, the results provided evidence that organization technical support, organization administrative support, and organization infrastructure and resources have a significant positive impact on the commitment in use of technology. However, organization ICT policy has an insignificant negative impact on the commitment in use of technology. The findings could be generalized on other public sector universities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The data were collected from one public sector university of Hail province, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Only four external factors were taken into consideration in investigating its influence on the commitment in use of technology. There could be other external/environmental factors which might be useful to underpin the theory and advance literature.

In-service and trainee faculties should take an advantage of using learning management system. Faculty should create a positive learning environment in their online classes so the learners can take a benefit out of the immense investment on ICT by ministry of higher education. Apart from giving training to teaching staff in use of technology, learners should also be given a platform to increase and improve their digital literacy. Workshops can be conducted frequently for both faculties and learners. Faculty can offer additional and out of the class support to their reluctant and weak students in order to assist them in the use of technology.

Technology integration after COVID-19 outbreak has significantly changed the education sector throughout the world. The use of technology now is unavoidable at primary, secondary and at tertiary level. This study provides an exclusive viewpoint concerning the external/environmental evidence based findings that have not been investigated empirically in the Saudi Arabian context. The current study also provides statistically a theoretical five-component model to understand the phenomena in the field of information communication technology.

The success rate of design-build (D-B) implementation in Malaysia’s private construction projects is low compared to the nation’s public projects. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the critical success factors (CSFs) for D-B implementation in Malaysian public construction projects.

To achieve the research objectives, 111 questionnaire survey responses from construction-related professionals were collected and analysed using multivariate analysis, including t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and factor analysis.

The results indicate that while the client’s briefing effectiveness remained the top CSF among many nations, the other top CSFs in Malaysia D-B construction projects vastly differed compared to those countries. Moreover, the underlying components for successful D-B projects in Malaysia include the project management team, leader competency and “stakeholder” management.

This is one of the first studies that identify the CSFs for D-B implementation in the Malaysian construction industry. The outcomes provide a valuable reference and resource for academic scholars and construction practitioners to increase D-B implementation in the Malaysian private sector.

The global prominence of languages and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which supports the necessity of German proficiency for the nation’s socioeconomic evolution, necessitate a deeper understanding of German teaching in Saudi international schools. This study delves into the influence of various teaching strategies on students' German writing skills. The research particularly focuses on traditional and innovative methods and considers the factors that drive these teaching approaches.

Data were collected from 304 students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, through a questionnaire. The relationships between teaching strategies and students' German writing abilities were analyzed using regression techniques.

The results indicate that both traditional and innovative teaching strategies positively influence students' writing skills. The regression analysis shows that the independent variables (traditional teaching strategies, innovative teaching strategies and factors influencing teaching strategies) collectively account for 68.9% of the variation in students' German writing skills. Even though a variety of techniques influence students' academic performance, the study’s findings indicate that several strategies – such as self-evaluation, pair work, oral feedback, grammar instruction and translation – have a major impact on students' German writing abilities.

This research brings unique insights into the German teaching realm of Saudi international schools, emphasizing the harmony between Vision 2030 goals and effective teaching methodologies. It elucidates the considerable influence of both traditional and innovative strategies on student writing outcomes. For educators in Saudi Arabia’s international educational environment, the study’s findings underline the importance of adopting student-centric approaches in the writing process, ensuring students evolve as proficient writers. Additionally, the research underscores the significant role of variables affecting teaching strategies, spotlighting their pivotal role in shaping student outcomes.

This cross-sectional online survey in Oman in April 2021 aimed to assess university students' resilience, stress levels and meaning during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify characteristic profiles.

A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from full-time students at one University in Oman. Outcomes included sociodemographic information, the brief resilience scale, the perceived stress scale-4 and the meaning in life questionnaire to explore the students' profiles.

A total of 964 students participated (response rate = 34.8%), of which 35% had low resilience scores. The average perceived stress, presence of meaning in life and search for meaning in life scores were 7.9 ± 2.3, 24.2 ± 6.9 and 24.9 ± 7.7, respectively. Cluster analysis identified three groups: low-risk and fewer impacts (cluster A, n = 503, 523%), moderate-risk and moderate impacts (cluster B, n = 160, 16.6%) and high-risk and more impacts (cluster C, n = 301, 31.2%). Cluster C students experienced more psychological problems and were at high risk during the pandemic.

The respondents' honesty is a possible error that could influence the results. Low response rates limit its generalizability, and cause-effect relationships among mental health outcomes cannot be discerned.

This study identified three distinct groups of students, each with different levels of severity in their health problems. There is an increased need for education and counseling to support students during this period, and university management should focus on implementing personal precautionary measures and providing high-tech, user-friendly platforms for students to enhance their learning.

These findings suggest that tailored strategies should be developed to address the unique psychological needs of each group. The study provides important information for university management to understand the pandemic's psychological impact on students and develop effective interventions to support their well-being.