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Burnout and Job Performance of Special Educators Working with Students Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Study at Specialised Centre in Dubai
No full textThis case study seeks to examine the effects of burnout on the key work performance indicators of special education teachers in a Dubai specialised centre for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the potential predictive relationship between various demographic characteristics like age, gender, education, years of experience, and the age group of the students they are working with, and three burnout dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and personal accomplishment. This study employs a quantitative approach in its research design. The data revealed that there is no strong direct impact of burnout on the performance indicators of the special educators working with students diagnosed with ASD. Regarding the demographic variables that can potentially directly affect special educators' burnout, no confirmation was found that all three dimensions of burnout – emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and personal accomplishment – were equally affected by certain variables collectively. It was found that the age and experience of the special education teachers have an impact on emotional exhaustion. The education qualification may affect depersonalisation, and gender is associated with feelings of personal accomplishment of the special education teachers. Academics, educational leaders, special education centre managers, special education teachers, and policymakers can benefit from this research's results. When seeking to improve the educational experience for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), it will be helpful to utilise the findings of this research to make informed decisions when addressing issues associated with the burnout of special education teachers working with children diagnosed with Autism.
Keywords: burnout, special educators, performanc
The Influence of Technology Integration on Student Engagement and Learning Outcomes in Mathematics in a Middle School in Dubai
No full textThe dynamic nature of technology and its prevalent integration in education have raised a controversial debate on its influence in education. This study examined the influence of technology integration in mathematics focusing on student engagement and learning outcomes in a private American curriculum middle school in Dubai. The employed methodology incorporated mixed approaches. The quantitative data was collected through students structured questionnaire, and analysed using descriptive statistics and linear regression. Whereas, qualitative data was collected through teachers semi-structured questionnaire, subject lead semi-structured interview and observation notes, then analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that technology integration impulses active participation, personalized learning and collective cooperation. Besides, it facilitates achieving of mathematics learning outcomes, promotes creativity and boosts educational challenges. On contrary, technology furnishes chances for students to play games, chat during classes and cheat during assessments. Further, the inferred challenges emphasized the long planning time and required technical support along with the students’ health and emotional concerns. To overcome these challenges the facilitating factors highlighted students’ responsibility, frequent practice, real-life connections and professional trainings. Those findings have implications for students, teachers, educational leaders and policymakers for better technology implementation. The main limitations are the study’s specificity, limited sampling size, restricted timeframe and subjective nature of thematic analysis. Thus, for future studies it is recommended to broaden the research’s parameters and settings. The current study concluded that technology integration in mathematics has miscellaneous influence on student engagement and learning outcomes depending on students’ learning attitudes, teaching pedagogies and school’s practices
Durability Design Approach and Exposure Conditions in Eurocode, British Standard and ISO 13823 Standards: A Review
No full textThis open access book presents contributions on a wide range of scientific areas originating from the BUiD Doctoral Research Conference (BDRC 2023)Several incidents of early deterioration of reinforced concrete structures have been reported in recent years. Consequently, the critical demand to incorporate durability in the structural design and construction approach has emerged. As a result, durability design provisions in many countries’ standards have gotten increasingly stringent. In the absence of clear standard guidelines for design engineers, insufficient design and failures or an expensive over-design to provide for the worst-case scenario may occur. This paper compares and critically reviews the durability design requirements and provisions in the Eurocode, British standards, and ISO standards and proposes improvements that will contribute to the development of the coming generation of these documents. The review revealed similarities in the durability design approach, exposure conditions, and design requirements in the Eurocode code and British standard, whereas the ISO 13823 approach is different. The studied documents’ durability provisions are comprehensive, detailed, and well-defined. Nevertheless, several provisions require to be revised to avoid misinterpretation by the code practitioners and to ensure an economically conservative durable design
The Impact of Key Determinants of BIM Technology Adoption on Organizational Performance within the UAE Construction Industry
No full textThis open access book presents contributions on a wide range of scientific areas originating from the BUiD Doctoral Research Conference (BDRC 2023)Purpose- To evaluate the impact of key determinates of BIM technology adoption on various aspects of organizational and business performance in the UAE construction industry using the UTAUT model. The three factors examined in this study are performance expectancy, behavioral intention, use behavior and their impact on organizational performance.
Methodology- This paper employs a theoretical background and proposes a research module to study the impact of key determinants of BIM technology adoption on organizational performance within UAE-based construction companies. The scope of this paper does not cover performing field empirical analysis.
Findings- The paper's expected outcomes will allow a better understanding of the impact of BIM adoption key determinants of BIM technology, and organizational performance within the UAE construction industry
Implications- The study can assist in maximizing the overall performance of companies within the UAE construction industry while adopting BIM technology, contributing to the literature in this area.
Originality/ value - Discussing BIM technology adoption key determinates impact organizational and business performance related to the construction industry within the UAE by employing the UTAUT model to develop a new research model, which will allow construction companies to increase overall business performance by adopting new technology. This will also contribute to the literature related to the diffusion of new technologies
Exploring Teachers' Utilization of Adaptive Learning Platform Features to Foster Students' Self-Regulated Learning: A Focus on ALEKS Platform
No full textAdaptive Learning (AL) is a revolutionary promising technology that employs artificial intelligence to optimize students’ performance and attainment by providing customized learning frameworks that cater to each learner's unique needs. However, the isolated nature of this learning environment has not only necessitated ensuring that students are equipped with the essential skills to thrive within this landscape but also underscored the importance of aligning teachers’ practices to meet this demand. Cultivating students’ Self-regulated learning (SRL) is a critical practice that is needed in this academic setting. A scarcity of studies that explore teachers’ utilization of Adaptive Learning Platforms (ALP) to foster students’ academic competencies, including SRL, was noticeable. Focusing on ALEKS, this study investigates teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of ALEKS’s features in promoting students' SRL skills. Additionally, the study seeks to assess teachers’ employment of ALEKS’s tools to enhance students’ SRL. Thirdly, this study explores how ALEKS's features could enhance students' SRL. A parallel mixed-method approach was adopted to address the research questions: an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed a general affirmation among teachers of ALEKS’s capacity to promote students’ SRL. Moreover, the findings showcased the presence of teachers’ employment of strategies that are believed to foster students' SRL skills within ALEKS context and underlined the need for more consistent engagement. Furthermore, the findings, combined with the theoretical framework, demonstrated ALEKS’s SRL promotion potential. The results additionally highlight obstacles to using ALEKS or other ALPs, and shed light on valuable implications for educators, policymakers, and instructional designers
A Decision-Making Framework for Benchmarking Virtual Commerce Applications for the Metaverse using Spherical Linear Diophantine Fuzzy Sets
No full textThe rise of the Metaverse has ignited a surge of interest among researchers and decision-makers, seeking to develop effective virtual commerce (v-commerce) applications that cater to business demands and customer preferences. V-commerce, an emerging concept, redefines the future of shopping experiences and customer-product interactions. While businesses are actively exploring the potential of immersive technologies to deliver engaging shopping experiences, there remains a lack of consensus on what constitutes an ideal v-commerce experience and how to identify optimal virtual commerce stores effectively. Moreover, despite numerous efforts to design v-commerce applications, none of the current applications exhibit all the desired developmental attributes. Considering this, benchmarking v-commerce applications for the metaverse is crucial for its development. This endeavor falls within the realm of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM), considering various critical issues such as the numerous design attributes, uncertainty regarding their relative importance, and data variability. This study defines thirteen essential design attributes of v-commerce applications through an investigative approach and proposes a novel decision-making framework to benchmark the v-commerce applications based on the identified attributes. The novel method extends the Fuzzy-Weighted Zero-InConsistency (FWZIC) method with Spherical Linear Diophantine Fuzzy Sets (SLDFS), integrated with the Ranking Alternatives by Trace Median Index (RATMI) method, to formulate a strategy for selecting an optimal v-commerce application for the metaverse. Three decision matrices are constructed by intersecting 24 v-commerce application alternatives, labelled A01 to A24, with thirteen application attributes. Subsequently, the proposed method is utilized to determine the significance of these attributes and rank the applications. Criteria weighting results reveal that “Ease of Navigation” and “Recommendation Agents” are the most significant criteria in assessing v-commerce solutions. Based on ranking results, applications “A04”, “A15” and “A19” were ranked the most optimal solutions in the augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) categories respectively. Finally, sensitivity analysis, systematic ranking, and comparative analysis procedures are used to assess the robustness and validity of the proposed decision-making framework. This research provides essential insights for decision-makers and practitioners to facilitate business growth, consumer satisfaction, and further research in this domain
The Impact of Teachers’ Leadership on Students’ Achievements in Private Schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
No full textThe present research explores the conceptual framework that underlines the impact of teachers’ leadership on students’ achievements and non-cognitive skills in private schools in the Abu Dhabi Emirate. Examining well-known leadership theories, such as transformational, transactional, instructional, and distributed, helps one to investigate the theoretical underpinnings of those inspiring leadership, to address the pressing need to understand how such leadership influences corporate culture, motivates teachers, and increases student engagement. The study aims to grasp the intricate mechanisms by which various leadership styles influence organizational dynamics and student achievements in private schools by combining a variety of theoretical perspectives. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, utilizing both quantitative surveys and qualitative semi-structured interviews to gather comprehensive data from teachers, students, and school leaders. Motivated by the main research question, “What impact does teachers’ leadership have on students’ academic achievement in private schools within the Abu Dhabi Emirate?” the study, for example, shows that transformational leadership is quite important in determining organizational culture, motivating teachers, and raising student involvement. These results support future empirical research projects and add to the scholarly debate on educational leadership. Furthermore, the research offers useful information for creating successful leadership plans in Abu Dhabi and surrounding schools. In order to underline the need for more research and application in educational practices, the study finally shows that transformational, instructional, transactional, and distributed leadership styles have great potential to positively influence students’ achievements and non-cognitive skills
The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Teachers' Morale
No full textThis study investigates the impact of transformational leadership on teacher morale within educational institutions in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Utilising a mixed-methods approach, the research combines quantitative surveys and qualitative semi-structured interviews to provide a comprehensive understanding of how transformational leadership behaviours influence teacher job satisfaction and retention. The findings reveal that transformational leadership significantly enhances teacher morale by fostering effective communication, supporting professional development, and encouraging innovation. The study highlights the importance of culturally adapted leadership practices in diverse educational settings and underscores the positive effects of high teacher morale on the school climate and student outcomes. These insights offer valuable implications for educational leaders and policymakers aiming to improve teacher retention and the overall school performance through transformational leadership strategies. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of these leadership practices across various educational contexts
A Framework for Developing Information Requirements for Built Asset Management Based on Organisational Sustainability Objectives
No full textThis open access book presents contributions on a wide range of scientific areas originating from the BUiD Doctoral Research Conference (BDRC 2023)Purpose- In recent years, digital transformation using Building Information Modelling (BIM) systems has reshaped asset management. This process involves systematically maintaining and improving assets throughout an organization's lifecycle, with a focus on sustainability objectives. However, the current asset management process often wastes time and resources searching for asset information. This research aims to create a BIM-based framework, address the disconnection between asset management models and key indicators of sustainability, and help achieve the organisation's sustainability objectives.
Methodology- This paper explores the relationship between asset management and sustainability objectives, establishing an integrated framework from existing literature. A seven-step approach to developing information needs is also proposed.
Findings- It was found that asset information requirements are often formed without a direct link to the organisational objectives they are intended to achieve or are difficult to detect adequately. Recognising the cyclical nature of asset management and BIM and generating a framework.
Implications- The framework will help address the disconnection between design aspirations and key indicators of sustainability.
Originality value- The framework aligns asset management with sustainability objectives and integrates with BIM for a unified asset management platform
A Comparative Analysis of Deep Learning Models for Facial Expression Recognition at COP28
No full textFacial expression recognition (FER) has primarily been studied in controlled environments, which do not adequately represent the dynamic conditions of real-world events. This study aims to bridge this gap by conducting a comparative analysis of deep learning models tailored to the context of COP28, a large-scale public event in the UAE. The research evaluated several deep learning architectures, including the standard convolutional neural network (CNN), expanded CNN, multi-path CNN, pre-trained transfer learning Visual Geometry Group 16 (VGG16), recurrent neural network (RNN), long short-term memory (LSTM), gat-ed recurrent unit (GRU), and vision transformer (ViT) ones, using the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces (KDEF) dataset for training and validation. Performance was then tested on unseen images from COP28. The findings revealed that CNN-based models, particularly the multi-path CNN and VGG16, outperformed sequential models such as the RNN, LSTM, and GRU, with the multi-path CNN achieving the highest accuracy (71.70%) on COP28 test im-ages. The expanded CNN showed a strong performance on the KDEF dataset, achieving a training accuracy of 97.7%. Although most models performed exceptionally well in con-trolled settings, their performance varied when applied to COP28, indicating areas for improvement in generalization. The limitations included dataset constraints and performance variability across different expressions. Future research should focus on diverse datasets, advanced data augmentation, ensemble methods, newer architectures, multimodal approaches, and understanding cultural impacts on FER while considering ethical implications. This work underscores the importance of adapting FER models to real-world scenarios and provides insights for improving FER accuracy and generalization