2,931 research outputs found
The Political Thought of the Late H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founder of the United Arab Emirates (1966 - 2004)
No full textThis thesis highlights the political thought of H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a man who made decisive contributions to the history of the twentieth century, and the various reflections of this political thought on the UAE, its people and the international community at large. In this regard, it explores and analyzes a multifaceted political thought that took its form in political practice in the establishment of the Federation, the management of crises and in the building of a prosperous enduring nation. Evaluating the factors that influenced the formation of the doctrinal matrix of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, this thesis traces the background from within which Sheikh Zayed’s leadership skills evolved and developed. From his early years onwards, Sheikh Zayed made a firm commitment to undertake the considerable task of building a fully fledged state out of a divided tribal background, improve the lives of citizens, and carve a place for the UAE in the international arena.
This research project illustrates the implications and dimensions of Sheikh Zayed's political thinking process exemplified in his discursive statements and actions. It documents and analyzes the career achievements of Sheikh Zayed, a statesman acknowledged by contemporary and future generations to have had significant impact on the political direction and overall development of the UAE. This impact also demonstrates the potential of his contribution to the field of political thought.
One of this study’s primary conclusions is that the accomplishments of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan during his rule have resulted primarily from his development of an integrated doctrine of governance that reflected his humanistic outlook. In this regard, at both the domestic and international levels, Sheikh Zayed’s political decisions and acts were undertaken with reference to this outlook
The effect of COVID-19 on the academic performance of Zayed University students in the United Arab Emirates
No full textThe outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to significant changes across various sectors, including the field of education. In response to the pandemic, educational institutions worldwide, including Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), transitioned to online learning. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the academic performance of students in the UAE and their satisfaction with remote learning, while also examining gender differences in these variables. This study used a quantitative research design in which a questionnaire was used to collect data. The study employed a snowball sampling method to recruit a total of 1,780 male and female students aged 18 and above from Zayed University in the UAE. The collected data were analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques. This study revealed that students at Zayed University maintained a good level of academic performance (M = 3.34, SD = 0.76) during the COVID-19 pandemic and were satisfied with online learning (M = 3.48, SD = 0.84) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant positive correlation was observed between students’ academic performance and their level of satisfaction with online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic (p \u3c 0.001). Furthermore, no significant differences were found between gender and both academic performance and level of satisfaction with online learning. Finally, we found that more males leaned toward online learning while more females leaned toward face-to-face learning. This study contributes to understanding the impact of COVID-19 on students’ academic performance and satisfaction with remote learning in the UAE context. The findings highlight the significance of student satisfaction for successful online learning and emphasize the need for adequate resources and the maintenance of education quality
After Shaikh Zayed: The Politics of Succession in Abu Dhabi and the UAE
No full textThis paper reveals the careful succession arrangements and the highly complex statecraft employed in one of the world\u27s most resource-rich and most autocratic of states. Following an overview of the dominance of Abu Dhabi emirate in the federal political economy of the United Arab Emirates, and a discussion of the central role that continues to be played by personal resources in Abu Dhabi\u27s particular brand of the ruling bargain, it is then demonstrated how the polity has managed to survive the loss of its ultimate patriarchal figure, Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan. In particular, it is described how Zayed\u27s eldest son and successor, Khalifa, has been able to silence his critics by skillfully securing considerable power within a precarious and highly charged political environment. A highly effective combination of short-term and long-term strategies have been engaged, all of which recognize the persistence of tribal politics and kinship loyalties, the ongoing relevance of centuries-old historical relationships, and the increasing necessity for the shrewd accommodation of all key players in a fragmented and ever-expanding dynasty
Identification and evaluation of bioflocculant from Bacillus salmalaya 139SI for its application in wastewater treatment / Zayed M. M. Abu Tawila
No full textBioflocculants are flocculating compounds produced by microorganisms during their growth and has recently received extensive consideration from researchers due to their biodegradable, non-toxicity and lack of secondary pollution from degradation intermediates characteristics. The production, optimization, and Characterisation of bioflocculant QZ-7 produced by a novel Bacillus salmalaya strain 139SI which was isolated from a private farm soil in Selangor, Malaysia, were determined. Meanwhile, the optimal culture condition for bioflocculant production was achieved after cultivation at 35.5 °C for 72 h at pH 7, with an inoculum size of 5% (v/v) and sucrose, glucose as carbon source and yeast extract, urea as nitrogen sources. A bioflocculant yield of 2.72 g was recovered from 1 L of broth culture, with maximum flocculating activity that was found to be 92.6%. Chemical analysis revealed that the pure bioflocculant QZ-7 consisted of 79.08% carbohydrates and 15.68% proteins. Infrared spectrometry analysis showed the presence of carboxyl (COO-), hydroxyl (-OH), and amino (-NH3) groups, which are typically from polysaccharides and proteins. The NMR spectroscopy analysis confirmed the result of FTIR, through the presence of functional groups of the QZ-7. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that QZ-7 exhibited a clear crystalline brick-shaped structure. The average molecular weight of the bioflocculant QZ-7 was calculated to be 5.13×105Da. LC-MS analysis confirmed that QZ-7 was a glycoprotein compound detected at 741m/z–745m/z. Moreover, the presence of glucose at 182.96 m/z, rhamnose at 354.3m/z, and glucuronic acid at 212.8 m/z. SEM- EDX analysis indicated the existence of C, O, N, P and S in this macromolecule as 55.74%, 42.74%, 0.54%, 0.93% iv
and 0.06%, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the bioflocculant QZ-7 contained thermos-stable and thermo-labile molecules. Bioflocculant QZ-7 exhibited wide pH stability that ranged from 4 to 7, with a flocculation activity of more than 70%. In addition, QZ-7 was thermally stable and retained more than 80% of its flocculating efficiency after being heated at 60 °C for 30 min. The highest bioflocculating activity of 93.6% was obtained for Ca+2 at 2 mg/L of QZ-7 concentration at pH 7. The treatment of river water by purified bioflocculant QZ-7 showed high performance in the removal of turbidity, total suspended solids and COD. After treating the wastewater, the bioflocculant QZ-7 showed significant flocculating performance with a COD removal efficiency of 93%, whereas a BOD removal efficiency of 92.4% was observed in the B. salmalaya strain 139SI. In addition, results for the removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater revealed that the bioflocculant QZ-7 was capable of removing the heavy metals. For example, the maximum adsorption of As (89.8 %), and Zn+2 (77.4 %), and Cu+2 (58.4%). Moreover, the bioflocculant QZ-7 had significant removal efficiency of different pharmaceutical compounds, such as Simvastatin (92.45%), Salbutamol (88.69%), Acetaminophen (69%), and Caffeine (66.52%). Furthermore, B. salmalaya 139SI strain and pure bioflocculant QZ-7 could synthesise AgNPs. Also, an antibacterial activity of the AgNPs was detected against test bacterial strains, such as Escherichia coli ATCC35401, Salmonella enteritidis ATCCBAA-711, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC2592 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as application of AgNPs
Caffeine Consumption among Zayed University Students in Dubai, United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Study
No full textBackground: Over the past decade, the global caffeine consumption rate has increased dramatically. Coffee and tea are among the common sources, but energy drinks are becoming an important contributor to total caffeine consumption. Recommendations for daily caffeine intake is not being followed due to the perceived benefits of caffeine which include mood improvement, concentration, social factors, and energy boosting. This study was important to add to the limited data about caffeine consumption in the Gulf region and mainly in the UAE.Objectives: The objectives were to determine the prevalence of caffeinated beverage consumption among university students and perceived benefits in addition to the estimation of daily caffeine consumption (mg/day).Design: Data was collected through a self-reported questionnaire from a total of 175 participants (129 females and 46 males) who were conveniently selected from different settings at Zayed University - Dubai. Usual Caffeine intake was calculated from all caffeine containing beverages. Results: Eighty-six percent of the 175 participants, both males and females, at Zayed University-Dubai consumed caffeinated beverages with an average intake of 249.7±235.9 mg. The intake among the 150 caffeine consumers varied from 4.2 mg/day to 932.2 mg/day. Average intake of caffeine was not significantly different between genders (P=0.125). Thirty-five percent of the population consumed more than 400 mg/day of caffeine, with no statistical difference between males and females (P=0.202). Coffee was the most commonly consumed drink among both genders, followed by tea. Most perceived benefits of caffeine consumption were not significantly different except for the relationship between caffeine and improved exercise performance (P=0.018) and caffeine in relation to weight loss (P=0.001) among males.Conclusion: The prevalence of caffeine consumption at Zayed University was high among both males and females. Further research is necessary to estimate the total caffeine intake from all dietary sources, mainly the cultural foods and beverages, and to determine the relationship between accessibility to caffeine containing beverages and caffeine consumption among University student.</jats:p
A Critique of Hasan Hanafi’s Assertion Concerning Islamic Pluralism
No full textيقر الإسلام التعدد لكنه دين واحد لا يتعدد، ومع هذا فإن دعاة الحداثة يصرون على تعدد الإسلام ذاته، فينوعونه إلى إسلامات ناشئة تارة عن المكان، وأخرى الطائفة، وهكذا، حتى قرروا أن هناك إسلاما علماني، وآخر ليبرالي وثالث اشتراكي، وهلم جرا، الأمر الذي أوقع الحيرة في نفوس الكثير من المسلمين ليتساءلوا: أي إسلام نطبق؟ وإلى أي إسلام ننتمي وندعو؟
وجاء هذا البحث لينقد وينقض تلك الدعوى التي صدَّرها لنا د حسن حنفي مفسرا الإسلام تفسيرا ماركسيا، متجاوزا بتفسيراته كافة المناهج العلمية والموضوعية في البحث العلمي، زاعما أنه امتداد فكري وإصلاحي لمدرسة رشيد رضا، وسيد قطب ومصطفى السباعي.While Islam recognizes pluralism, it also states that it is but one singular religion. However, many modernists insist on the pluralization of Islam and often classify Islam based on geography or sect. Because of this, they conclude that there are secular, liberal, socialist, and many other versions of Islam. This leaves many confused as to which version of Islam Muslims should apply and which type of Islam Muslims should identify and propagate.
This paper was written as a refutation of Dr Hassan Hanafi’s Marxist interpretation of the Quran. Dr Hanafi transgressed all scientific and objective methodologies in his research, as he alleged to have embodied the intellectual and reformist thought of Rashid Rida, Sayyid Qutub and Mustafa Al-Sibai
Implicit and explicit predictors of smoking cessation behavior
No full textThe current study drew on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to model self-change behavior in a sample of self-defined smokers over a 6 month follow-up period. The study tested the validity of the TPB model and the validity of the Expanded Model which proposed the addition of Impulsivity and Implicit Smoking Self-Identity as predictors of smoking outcome. The sample was recruited via an online advertisement and consisted of current smokers over18 years of age reporting no terminal illness. The baseline sample consisted of 81female and 49 male participants and the follow-up sample consisted of 28 female and 14 male participants. The study was administered online. Data consisted of demographic variables, dependence severity, and perceived stress. The TPB model variables were Smoking Attitude, as measured by Semantic Differential scales, Social Norm and Intent to Quit, measured using item ratings, and Self-Efficacy. Smoking outcome was measured as time to first quit attempt, number of quit attempts in the last 6 months, and longest period of abstinence in the last 6 months (dichotomized into high and low abstinence groups because of severe skew). A linear regression was run to test the first step of the TPB, predicting Intent to Quit from Personal Attitude, Social Norm, and Self-Efficacy. The current study found support for the first step of the TPB model- Personal Attitude and Social Norm predicted Intent to Quit. A series of regressions were performed to test the second step of the model, predicting Smoking Outcome from Intent to Quit, Self-Efficacy, Impulsivity, and Smoking Self-Concept. Partial support was found for the second step of the model, with Intent to Quit and Impulsivity predicting smoking outcome. Smoking Self-Concept was found to be predictive at a trend. Self-efficacy was not found to be predictive of either Intent to Quit or smoking outcome. An attrition analysis was performed to investigate predictors of study participation at follow-up. Support for the construct validity of the Smoking Self-Identity IAT was found; it was uncorrelated with Explicit Attitude and Social Desirability Bias and negatively correlated with smoking outcome. Limitations of the sample and implications for future research are discussed.Ph.D.Includes abstractVitaIncludes bibliographical referencesby Zayed Al-Otaib
Impaired activity of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase of heart mitochondria in chronic renal failure: Role of secondary hyperparathyroidism
No full textChronic renal failure (CRF) is associated with impaired oxidation of α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) by heart mitochondria, and previous data indicated that this derangement is due to the state of secondary hyperparathyroidism of CRF. A reduction in the utilization of α-KG by heart mitochondria implies that the activity of mitochondrial α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (α-KGDH) is impaired; however, direct evidence for such an abnormality is not available. We examined the V(max) and the K(m) of α-KGHD of heart mitochondria obtained from normal rats, CRF animals and normocalcemic parathyroidectomized (PTX) CRF rats. Our data showed that CRF has no effect on the K(m) of α-KGDH for α-KG. However, V(max) of the enzyme was significantly (p < 0.01) reduced and this abnormality was prevented by PTX of CRF rats. Our results provide the evidence that the impaired utilization of α-KG by myocardial mitochondria of CRF rats is due to reduced V(max) of α-KGDH and that both derangements are mediated by excess PTH or a metabolic consequence of the secondary hyperparathyroidism of CRF
Temperature dependence of the pressure induced monoclinic distortion in the spin S=1/2 Shastry–Sutherland compound SrCu2(BO3)2
No full textWe investigate the monoclinic distortion that occurs at 4.7 GPa at room temperature in the frustrated Shastry-Sutherland model quantum magnet SrCu 2(BO3)2 as a function of pressure and temperature by means of powder and single crystal angle dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Our results indicate that the onset of the structural distortion varies in a narrow pressure range between ~4.0 and 5.0 GPa. This result will be useful in order to distinguish between magnetic transitions related to structural changes and potential intrinsic quantum phase transitions that various reports have suggested to take place in SrCu2(BO 3)2 at high pressure and low temperature.Swiss National Science Foundation grant (No. 200021-1080).Scopu
Multilingual dataset of COVID tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis TCMeta 1.0
No full textTCMeta is a dataset of noun phrase constructions from COVID-related tweets, annotated for relation-level metaphor.
It contains 2,138 Slovene and 2,221 English instances in tab-separated tabular format .tsv, where each line presents a unique phrase under consideration, extracted from a COVID-related tweet. The primary annotations include the COVID metaphor label (whether the phrase expresses a metaphor relating to COVID), but also additional ones for idioms, metaphors not relating to COVID, or metaphors not evident on the relation-level.
The complete user tweet could not be published due to the ToS of the then Twitter platform. We recommend retrieving the text of the tweets via their IDs using the Hydrator tool [https://github.com/docnow/hydrator] or similar.
The dataset is further described in:
Brglez, M., Zayed, O. & Buitelaar, P. TCMeta: a multilingual dataset of COVID tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis. Lang Resources & Evaluation 59, 437–475 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10579-024-09725-z.
@article{brglez2025tcmeta,
title={{TCMeta}: a multilingual dataset of {COVID} tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis},
author={Brglez, Mojca and Zayed, Omnia and Buitelaar, Paul},
journal={Language Resources and Evaluation},
pages={437--475},
volume={59},
year={2025},
publisher={Springer},
doi = {10.1007/s10579-024-09725-z}
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