Ahmed Almurshidi

This single-institution case study examined faculty acceptance and instructional use of social media at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), with emphasis on individual-level demographic associations and faculty perceptions of technology-enhanced learning. A cross-sectional survey of 246 faculty members was analyzed using descriptive statistics and contingency-table methods. Female faculty reported higher instructional use than male faculty (88.0% vs. 75.3%; χ²(1, N = 246) = 5.07, p = 0.024; Φ = 0.144; OR = 2.41, 95% CI [1.16, 5.00]), indicating a small association. For age, the omnibus 5 × 2 chi-square test was not statistically significant (χ²(4, N = 246) = 8.17, p = 0.085), although an ordered trend test suggested increasing non-use with age (z = 2.34, p = 0.019); descriptively, this pattern was driven mainly by the 61–70 group rather than a steady increase across all age categories. Academic rank differed overall (χ²(3, N = 246) = 8.70, p = 0.034), but the pattern was non-monotonic, and the prespecified junior-versus-senior comparison was not significant (χ²(1, N = 246) = 2.00, p = 0.157). Faculty reported benefits related to communication, collaboration, audiovisual learning, mobile access, and academic networking, alongside concerns about distraction and reduced interpersonal interaction. Because the study was conducted at one university with a 26.25% response rate, the findings are context-specific and should not be generalized to all UAE or Gulf higher-education institutions.

Understanding the formation and spatiotemporal distribution of particulate matter (PM) is crucial in atmospheric science and air quality assessment (Omari et al., 2019). PM comprises a mix of organic and inorganic particles suspended in the air, categorized by aerodynamic diameter into PM₁₀ (2.5–10 μm) and PM_2.5 (10, PM_2.5, and other gases such as NO₂ , CO, SO₂ , and O₃ . Spatial maps and statistical analyses reveal that PM concentrations follow a seasonal cycle, peaking in summer due to natural dust events and declining in winter. Maximum PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 values reached 218 μg/m³ and 60 μg/m³ in summer, and 169 μg/m³ and 34 μg/m³ in winter, respectively. The PM_2.5 / PM₁₀ ratio was generally below 0.5, indicative of dominant natural sources typical of arid environments (Abuelgasim and Farahat, 2020). Results suggest that the primary drivers of pollution are desert dust and transboundary transport, with limited influence from local anthropogenic sources. While this study focuses on inland areas, future research will address coastal zones where sea salt aerosols and human activities, including marine transport and urbanization, may contribute significantly to air pollution.

In 2022, the increased utilization of electric vehicles (EVs) curtailed global carbon dioxide emissions by 13 gigatons. While EV ownership has been on the rise in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accounting for approximately 1.3% of passenger car vehicles in 2022, it has not yet attained a level of economic feasibility compared to petroleum vehicles. The authors examined consumers’ opinions in the UAE toward adopting EVs for light-duty transport from the economic and geographic perspectives. The main research question was the following: to what extent do economic and geographic factors affect consumers’ opinions toward adopting EVs in the UAE? The objectives were to determine if a relationship exists between economic factors, such as saving money on petroleum, the cost of car maintenance, the cost of purchase, and income level, and geographic factors, including 14 cities across the seven Emirates that affect consumers’ opinions toward adopting EVs. We designed a survey that was distributed to a sample of 5459 respondents to examine this relationship. Descriptive and inferential statistics as well as PyData analytical techniques complemented by the application of data visualization tools such as Seaborn, Plotly, and Matplotlib were employed to examine the dataset. The findings demonstrated that respondents across all income levels have a positive outlook regarding the appeal of EVs for saving money on petroleum, while their interest in saving money on car maintenance and the initial cost of purchase became more pronounced in the higher income levels. Moreover, there were variations in preferences in highly populated Emirates (e.g., Dubai and Abu Dhabi) compared to Emirates with lower populations (e.g., Ras Al Khaimah and Umm al Quwain), confirming that much more emphasis is required to promote EVs in rural areas. When comparing multiple income groups to determine the impact of different factors, the ANOVA confirmed the prevailing patterns evident in the associations.

As sea level rises, coastal zones are increasingly affected by coastal hazards such as chronic submergence, flooding during extreme events, shoreline erosion, salinization and wetland change. The special report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published in 2019 has reminded us that we are committed to sea level rise over the coming decades and centuries due to anthropogenic climate warming. There are significant reasons to be concerned because many infrastructures and settlements are located in low-lying or vulnerable coastal zones. However, information and climate services supporting adaptation to sea-level rise remain fragmented, as shown by the assessment of the Grand Challenge on Regional Sea Level Change and Coastal Impacts of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) (https://www.wcrp-climate.org/gc-sea-level). Hence, there is a need to share experience and feedback from various ongoing initiatives in order to accelerate the development of climate services specifically supporting adaptation to sea-level rise. This Research Topic aims to assess the current status of climate services supporting adaptation to sea-level rise. These services are developing in very different ways depending on the country or sector considered, and a number of projects are currently developing coastal climate services in different countries and regions (e.g. USA, Australia, Europe - Copernicus, ERA4CS…). Some of these projec...

The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented social and economic effects. In this study, the authors investigate the human interaction trends and spending behavior of individuals in the United Arab Emirates during the COVID-19 outbreak. An online survey was employed to assess the changes in human interactions and spending behavior among people in the United Arab Emirates. The findings indicate a decrease in spending on gasoline, restaurants, hotels, and coffee shops as well as an increase in spending on on-line shopping and groceries. During the pandemic, 80 percent of respondents reduced the number of visits with family and friends. Respondents also indicated greater cooperation among family members in performing household chores, with all members of the family, including children, participating in cooking, and increased cooperation between family members. The authors observed variations in the level and composition of consumer spending across the United Arab Emirates with variations by age, gender, and income level. The survey results highlight a specific relevance in government interventions tasked with the strategy, implementation, and monitoring of economic impacts arising from the spread of the coronavirus and forced public health measures to mitigate the health costs of the crisis. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/23754931.2021.1950039