United Arab Emirates University
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Do We Meet Their Needs? Honors Students’ Perspectives and Experiences of Honors Programs
Get PDFThis qualitative study investigates university students’ perceptions and experiences in the honors program at King Saud University (KSU). A total of twenty gifted university students were interviewed. The findings indicate that the honors program was perceived to be mediocre in content, and students found it to lack challenge and appeal. The participants experienced a lack of engagement with the program at the university compared to the pre-university programs they had experienced in their school years. Students reaffirmed that they benefited more from interactions with others in the program than from their interactions with staff and members of other programs. This study offers an insight into the way these programs are perceived by students and that can be used to enhance them to meet students’ needs.
Keywords: Honors programs, King Saud University, Gifted students, Perceptions, Experience
THE IMPACT OF REFLECTIVE WRITING ON INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES DEVELOPMENT: A MIXED METHOD STUDY ON PROSPECTIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS
Get PDFReflective writing is a process in which individuals critically examine their experiences, thoughts, and actions to gain understanding and improve their performance. This thesis investigates the impact of reflective writing on the development of instructional strategies among prospective English language teachers in the United Arab Emirates. The study also explores their perceptions of using reflective writing as a tool for teacher development. The study employed a mixed-methods approach and was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved collecting qualitative data, including document analysis of reflective writings and semi-structured interviews with three prospective teachers. In the second phase, a questionnaire was distributed to 30 prospective teachers. The findings reveal that reflective writing supports the development of instructional strategies. It enhances teachers’ pedagogical awareness, leading to more effective lesson planning, improved student engagement, and a more adaptive teaching approach. Besides, prospective teachers shared positive views and perceptions about reflective writing. According to them, it enhanced their teaching strategies, self-awareness, assessment skills, and professional development. However, some prospective teachers faced challenges in focusing on teaching aspects in the reflection. They revealed that continuous reflective writing practice was time-consuming and overwhelming while meeting all the requirements of the teaching practicum. This study contributes to a broader understanding of reflective writing in teacher education and emphasizes its importance in developing effective teaching strategies and facilitating continuous professional development. It advocates embedding reflective writing in teaching practices and educational programs to ensure that prospective teachers are equipped to engage in reflective practices throughout their careers
A NOVEL DATA FUSION FR AMEWORK TO ENHANCE CONTEXTUAL AWARENESS OF THE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES FOR ACCURATE DECISION MAKING
Get PDFAutonomous driving has the potential to bring significant changes and benefits to various aspects of transportation. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) use a combination of advanced sensors, cameras, radar, lidar, GPS, maps, and AI algorithms to perceive their environment, make decisions, and control their movements. Though there is a significant increase in the AVs utility, there are several challenges associated with the AVs among which ensuring safety and security for a reliable drive is still an existing challenge. The majority of accidents involving the AVs result from faulty decision-making resulting in fatal incidents. Multiple elements contribute to the flawed decision-making in autonomous vehicles (AVs), with inaccurate context creation being highlighted as one of the pivotal factors. For comprehensive safety across diverse driving environments, an autonomous vehicle must adeptly and dependably interpret its surroundings. Inadequate data acquisition from diverse sources and insufficient data pre-processing are the primary factors contributing to this inaccurate formation of context. To enhance environmental awareness and boost decision-making precision in autonomous vehicles (AVs), a versatile framework has been proposed. This framework incorporates multiple modules designed to oversee vital tasks such as collecting and organizing sensory data in diverse formats, extracting pertinent features, fusing them effectively, establishing precise context, and creating inventive and rapid decision protocols for timely decision-making in AVs. This research introduces innovative mechanisms for sensory data classification and versatile machine learning (ML) models for feature extraction and data fusion. A novel mechanism is proposed for instant rule framing and decision-making based on the fused data. This endeavour is commenced by presenting an outline of the functionality of the proposed framework, specifically highlighting image and video data formats, which hold prominence in sensory data. Efficient models have been suggested with the aim of extracting vital image attributes, including edges, colour, height, and width. Furthermore, an ingenious mathematical model is introduced, utilizing advanced matrix transformations and progressive modes to convert two-dimensional image data formats into three-dimensional ones. This mathematical model serves as the fundamental kernel function for the proposed Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model, enabling the fusion of different image data formats. Additional innovative concepts and mechanisms are introduced in this research to enhance the performance of the proposed models. The extension of the proposed edge detection model encompasses detecting edges in all directions within the input image, surpassing the previous limitation of solely identifying horizontal and vertical edges. Advanced mathematical models incorporating genetic mutation techniques are proposed to accomplish this task. Versatile kernel functions are developed to process 3D point cloud sensory data, which are integrated into the proposed Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) model for classifying and fusing different image data formats. The extended research effectively completes the functionalities of the remaining modules within the proposed framework. In the expanded work, novel models have been introduced to efficiently combine textual and audio data. Additionally, versatile models for object detection and classification have been presented, enhancing the accurate recognition and categorization of objects. Advanced techniques such as ensembling, gating, and filtering are incorporated to select the most suitable object detection and classification model. Further, innovative methodologies are proposed to establish accurate context and decision rules. The performance evaluation of the proposed models utilizes widely recognized datasets namely KITTI, nuScenes, RADIATE, OSU, BPEM and GeoTiles. The suggested image fusion model achieved an accuracy of 98% and demonstrated a faster execution time (0.98s) compared to other well-known image fusion models. Alternatively, the suggested object detection model demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.65 and an average precision of 0.85, confirming its improved performance than other widely acknowledged object detection models. Further results are discussed in the Experimental Analysis portion of Chapter 5, which is the outcome of extensive investigations carried out on several parameters to evaluate the suggested models
BIOMASS ESTIMATION OF MATURE MANGROVE TREES IN THE UAE USING SPACEBORNE REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES
Get PDFMangrove forest ecosystems play an essential role in diminishing the effects of climate change caused by the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Estimating mangrove forest aboveground biomass (AGB) and hence aboveground carbon (AGC) can assist in decision-making for conservation, sustainable use, and protection of these forests. The goal of this research project was to map the AGB of mangrove forests along the coasts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the aid of Landsat-8-9 satellite imagery data acquired in September 2023. 12 AGB estimation models were developed based on the combination of in situ measurements and Landsat-8-9 derived vegetation indices. AGB = 58975 EVI2.7659 was the best model selected with R2 = 0.8105 and p- value \u3c 0.005. The average percentage error between the calculated and derived AGB values was 22% which allowed estimation of mangrove forest AGB across the entire UAE. Maps of AGB and AGC were generated and the total values were estimated to be 1,902,653.231 tons and 894,246.882 tons respectively. The results and findings from this study will be used as a standard methodology for environmental studies for the Arab Satellite 813, an Earth-observation satellite to be launched in Q1 of 2025. They could also assist relevant authorities in taking necessary actions
استدامة الشراكات في وزارة الخارجية في دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة - حالة دراسية في الإدارة والحوكمة
Get PDFSustaining partnerships in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the United Arab Emirates: A Case Study in Management and Governance
Governance has become one of the most crucial focuses for organizations in recent times, as it plays a significant role in shaping internal and external operational systems at various levels within institutions, organizations, and countries. Governance represents an effective and integrated framework, incorporating best practices that enhance the achievement and sustainability of organizational goals by improving decision-making methods.
This study aimed to discuss the sustainability of partnerships in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the United Arab Emirates: a case study in management and governance with other entities by answering the following study questions:
1. What is the nature of the governance system applied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in UAE to sustain its partnerships with other entities, from the perspective of decision-makers within the ministry?
2. What are the determinants, goals, and tools of the UAE\u27s foreign policy towards the governance of partnership sustainability, as perceived by decision-makers in the ministry?
3. What are the decision-making and implementation mechanisms within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the governance of partnership sustainability?
4. What is the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs\u27 possession of partnership sustainability governance?
5. Is there an impact of governance mechanisms (participation, accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, legislative quality, rule of law) on partnership sustainability within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE according to decision-makers in the ministry?
To answer these questions, the researcher designed a specific questionnaire covering aspects of personal and job-related analysis for the study participants, including gender, age group, educational qualification, job level, and years of experience. The questionnaire also covered governance mechanisms with their dimensions (participation, accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, legislative quality, rule of law), and partnership sustainability with its dimensions (importance of partnership sustainability, requirements of partnership sustainability, barriers to partnership sustainability) within the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The questionnaire was distributed to a convenient random sample of 139 decision-making managers working in areas related to partnerships between the ministry and other entities. Using a quantitative approach (descriptive analysis) and the statistical analysis program SPSS, the study found the following results:
The reality of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs\u27 implementation of governance mechanisms with their dimensions (participation, accountability, government effectiveness, political stability, legislative quality, rule of law) was at a high level to achieve partnership sustainability with various sectors and organizations.The study results indicated that governance mechanisms with their dimensions (participation, accountability, government effectiveness, political stability, legislative quality, rule of law) have an impact on the importance of partnership sustainability and its requirements and barriers within the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The study results showed a statistically significant impact of governance mechanisms, with their dimensions (participation, accountability, government effectiveness, political stability, legislative quality, rule of law), on partnership sustainability with its dimensions (importance of partnership sustainability, requirements of partnership sustainability, barriers to partnership sustainability), where governance mechanisms explained 70.2%. In light of the results, the study recommends paying attention to governance mechanisms and building clear plans to improve partnership sustainability in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It also suggests conducting further studies related to governance mechanisms due to their importance in organizational performance
الحماية القانونية للمساهم في شركة المساهمة العامة
Get PDFLegal Protections for A Shareholder in A Public Joint Stock Company
There is no doubt that legal protections for a shareholder in a public joint stock company have become one of the key pillars on which the UAE national economy rests as it examines shareholder protections by critically analyzing shareholders\u27 voting and related rights, the right to information, expulsion right, dissolution of a company, derivative actions and direct actions.
This thesis critically assesses and attempts to provide a solution to the problem of minority shareholder protection, that is, the available methods by which minority shareholders can ensure their protection against the majority shareholders and directors.
In view of proctecting the minority shareholders\u27 rights, the management of a public joint stock company is subject to controls and accountable to the board of directors which is the executive authority which runs its affairs under the control of the General Assembly comprised of all shareholders.
The aim of this research paper is to provide detailed overview of civil liabilities of a chairman and members of the board of directors in a public joint stock company, in particular, such liabilities are analyzed vis-vis the company itself, the shareholders and third parties.
It appears that the UAE legislators have recently imposed new restrictions that are aimed at limiting the powers of the board of directors in a public joint stock company. There is an ongoing trend that such restrictions imposed by the UAE legislators will continue being enhanced in the coming months
DEVELOPMENT OF TiO2/NH2-MIL-125 NANOCOMPOSITE FOR THE REMOVAL OF CIPROFLOXACIN UNDER INDUCED SOLAR IRRADIATION
Get PDFThis research focuses on the development and application of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs)-based nanocomposites for the photocatalytic removal of pharmaceutical contaminants, with a specific emphasis on ciprofloxacin (CIP). The photocatalytic degradation of CIP was investigated using as-synthesized photocatalysts of TiO2 nanowires (TiO2NWs), bare MOF of NH2-MIL-125, TiO2NW/NH2-MIL-125 composite, and Lanthanum (La)-doped composite. Intriguingly, the TiO2NW/NH2-MIL-125 composite exhibited the highest efficiency, achieving a photodegradation rate of 0.0111 min-1, surpassing the independent performances of bare MOF of NH2-MIL-125 and TiO2NW. The observed efficiency was attributed to the formation of a Z-scheme heterojunction which improves charge separation and the generation of active species (•O2– and •OH) under the induced solar irradiation. Furthermore, the first-order rate constant of 0.0111 min-1 estimated for the TiO2NW/NH2-MIL-125 photocatalyst demonstrates promising and competitive performance when compared to prior research. This study emphasizes the potential for enhancing MOF photocatalytic properties through formation of heterojunction with inorganic photocatalysts like TiO2, particularly for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment. This research presents a promising solution for addressing pharmaceutical contaminations and invites further exploration into MOFs-based photocatalysis, recognizing experimental limitations and the scarcity of relevant literatur
THE IMPACT OF REFLECTIVE WRITING ON INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES DEVELOPMENT: A MIXED METHOD STUDY ON PROSPECTIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS
Get PDFReflective writing is a process in which individuals critically examine their experiences, thoughts, and actions to gain understanding and improve their performance. This thesis investigates the impact of reflective writing on the development of instructional strategies among prospective English language teachers in the United Arab Emirates. The study also explores their perceptions of using reflective writing as a tool for teacher development. The study employed a mixed-methods approach and was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved collecting qualitative data, including document analysis of reflective writings and semi-structured interviews with three prospective teachers. In the second phase, a questionnaire was distributed to 30 prospective teachers. The findings reveal that reflective writing supports the development of instructional strategies. It enhances teachers’ pedagogical awareness, leading to more effective lesson planning, improved student engagement, and a more adaptive teaching approach. Besides, prospective teachers shared positive views and perceptions about reflective writing. According to them, it enhanced their teaching strategies, self-awareness, assessment skills, and professional development. However, some prospective teachers faced challenges in focusing on teaching aspects in the reflection. They revealed that continuous reflective writing practice was time-consuming and burdening while meeting all the requirements of the teaching practicum. This study contributes to a broader understanding of reflective writing in teacher education and emphasizes its importance in developing effective teaching strategies and facilitating continuous professional development. It advocates embedding reflective writing in teaching practices and educational programs to ensure that prospective teachers are equipped to engage in reflective practices throughout their careers
EXPLORING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS IN RELATION TO TEACHING GIFTED STUDENTS
Get PDFThe diverse and constantly changing educational environment, along with students’ varying needs, backgrounds, and abilities, highlights the importance of teachers’ self-efficacy. As education develops, teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs become crucial to influencing their teaching methods and interactions with students of exceptional abilities. Self-efficacy is defined as the individuals’ confidence in their ability to successfully execute tasks and achieve desired outcomes. This study investigates the beliefs of English language teachers regarding their ability to identify and teach gifted students, focusing on how they perceive their own skills in teaching primary grade level students (grades 1, 2, and 3) with exceptional intellectual abilities in English language education. It followed a qualitative research design and collected data using an open-ended survey consisting of questions that encouraged participants to provide detailed and unrestricted responses. This study also performed purposeful sampling to select respondents with the necessary knowledge and experience to offer rich and meaningful data. This study targeted English language teachers (n = 15) at charter schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It also conducted snowball sampling by asking initial participants to refer to others who met the inclusion criteria. Data were analyzed in two stages: first, individual responses to each survey question were examined to understand teachers’ beliefs, and second, emerging themes were identified. This study showed that all participants expressed passion for educating gifted students. They reported using various teaching strategies to identify gifted students, such as differentiated instruction and assessment. They also reflected on their classroom management methods and the instruments they used to determine, which students were gifted, with limited support from their schools regarding identification and resource provision. The teachers acknowledged the challenges in identifying and teaching gifted students, including time constraints and workload. Through their experience, the respondents provided valuable recommendations in the domain of gifted education, and the findings highlighted several practical implications and provided recommendations for future research
FISH-EYE CAMERA-BASED REAL-TIME PEDESTRIAN CROSSING INTENTION PREDICTING SYSTEM
Get PDFFisheye cameras are widely used in traffic monitoring for their broad view, yet their distortion challenges deep-learning models in pedestrian detection and tracking. Despite available datasets like FishEye8K, collected in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and several studies have delved into pedestrian prediction systems, a notable gap remains: the absence of datasets specifically designed for the cultural context of the UAE. This study aims to address this gap by introducing an in-house fisheye dataset tailored to enhance the prediction and tracking of pedestrians in fisheye footage within the UAE\u27s environment. We\u27ve developed a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that combines YOLOv8 and Deep SORT, which are part of our tracking-by-detection framework for real-time pedestrian detection and tracking in fisheye footage. It employs color-coded bounding boxes for safety: green indicates pedestrians outside the crossing area, yellow for those near the boundary, and red within risk areas, enhancing safety monitoring and simplification. Our model was manually tested on 20 videos and classified with ratings of Excellent, Good, or Fair. When trained with the UAE Fisheye dataset using both YOLO Nano and YOLO Medium versions, it achieved Excellent and Good ratings, while training with the FishEye8k dataset resulted in Fair tracking performance. After 150 epochs, our YOLOv8m model achieved an F1-score of 0.836 and a mAP of 0.651, showcasing its efficacy in recognizing distorted images and validating our training approach