Teachers\u27 Use of YouTube in the United Arab Emirates: An Exploratory Study

Teachers around the world are using YouTube movies for different purposes. This mixed-methods study was a preliminary investigation of United Arab Emirates teachers\u27 perceptions about YouTube\u27s advantages in the classroom, current practices, and major challenges faced. Forty-five teachers completed an open-ended questionnaire. Results indicated that perceived advantages included supporting the learning process, increasing interest and efficiency, and enriching content. Moreover, findings revealed that the majority of participants were using videos for presentation purposes in teacher-led classrooms. Connectivity, technical issues, appropriateness of content, and administrative support were perceived as major challenges. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Participative Leadership and Organizational Identification in SMEs in the MENA Region: Testing the Roles of CSR Perceptions and Pride in Membership

The aim of this research is to explore the process linking participative leadership to organizational identification. The study examines the relationship between participative leadership and internal CSR perceptions of employees and also investigates the role that pride in membership plays in the affiliation of CSR perceptions with organizational identification. By studying these relationships, the paper aspires to contemplate new presumed mediators in the association of participative leadership with organizational identification as well as determine a possible novel antecedent of employee CSR perceptions. Empirical evidence is provided from data that was collected through a survey distributed to employees working for small- and medium-sized enterprises in three countries in the Middle East and North Africa regions, particularly the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Tunisia. Findings show that participative leadership leads to positive internal CSR perceptions of employees and that these CSR perceptions lead to pride in membership which, in turn, results in organizational identification. Implications of these findings are also discussed

Exploring the Affordance of Distance Learning Platform (DLP) in COVID19 Remote Learning Environment

2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Higher Education has been facing the dilemma of the preferred delivery method for over two decades. COVID19 pandemic in 2020 made the need for further exploration of the same even more imperative. Although the urgency of events did not leave much time for policymakers and educators to decide, it did inspire the authors of this article to analyse the affordances of Distance Learning Platform (DLP), and the ways students perceived the online learning due to current uncertain circumstances. Students as critical stakeholders in the learning process were on the receiving end of the decisions taken to facilitate distance learning. The focus of this study was to understand students\u27 experience of using the Distance Learning Platform (DLP) in a crises-induced environment at a university in the United Arab Emirates. A sample size of 60 undergraduate students who took academic study skills classes was used to collect data. Students were asked to reflect on their experience of distance learning, and the data were analysed to understand the students\u27 preferences of their study method while enabling them to recognise their cognitive skillset. The data indicated reasons behind students\u27 preferences of the preferred delivery method