Factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions among arab students

Entrepreneurship can be defined as the process and mind-set to initiate and develop economic activity. Studies have shown entrepreneurship to be a crucial driver of economic growth. This study sought to examine the factors that influence entrepreneurial attitudes among students in Arab countries. More specifically, it sought to examine the role of universities, role models, the entrepreneurial curriculum and students’ demographic characteristics in promoting Arab students’ entrepreneurial attitudes. The study employed a quantitative research design, where data was gathered from a sample of 1500 undergraduate Arab students in government universities and subjected to one-way ANOVA tests. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) was used to draw additional conclusions from the gathered data. The results showed that Arab students acknowledge the role played by universities, the entrepreneurship curriculum, role models and demographic variables in influencing their attitudes towards entrepreneurship. Universities and the entrepreneurial curriculum were found to be the greatest influencers of students’ entrepreneurial attitudes, ahead of role models and demographic variables. However, the low overall mean showed that most students do not believe that these institutions have played their role satisfactorily. Regarding the moderating effect of demographic variables, ANOVA results showed that age, academic major and work experience were not important determinants of students’ entrepreneurial attitudes. However, one’s country, their gender and academic level were found to be significant influencers of entrepreneurial attitudes. Male students were more entrepreneurially inclined than their female counterparts were and so were those in third and fourth years of study, compared to those in their freshman and sophomore years. The overall finding of the study was that universities need to play a more profound role in influencing students’ entrepreneurial attitudes.Scopu

Social responsibility and competitiveness in hotels: The role of customer loyalty

The concept of Social Responsibility (SR) has been evolved during the last decade and most organisations care about their society and the environment. While incorporating SR programs through organizational strategies would be mostly optional, the benefits of “doing a good business” may enhance competitiveness. Hospitality industry is not far from this where hotel sector can achieve several desirable outcomes adopting SR initiatives. Despite the fact that many services are intangible by their nature and they are evaluated based on perceptions, the willingness created by social initiatives can lead to an advantage through brand image. In return, a “good social reputation” can create and maintain customer loyalty in hotels and hospitality. This paper investigates the role of SR on competitiveness through the mediating role of customer loyalty. A model is developed and examined through hotel industry in Qatar. Statistical results show that all research hypotheses were accepted and customer loyalty could be retained by incorporating SR values affecting competitiveness in hospitality industry in Qatar

The effect of performance appraisal on job performance in governmental sector: The mediating role of motivation

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of performance appraisal on job performance focusing on the role of Motivation in the governmental sector in Qatar. While many organizations consider performance appraisal (PA) an important tool to measure and evaluate employees' performance, PA can be used as an effective tool to maintain the capabilities and effectiveness of the workforce. In general, PA can be a crucial tool to motivate employees and leverage their job performance and thus can be considered as a competitive advantage over rivals. This paper has identified main factors of PA from the previous pieces of literature and prioritized the most influencing factors affecting PA such as purpose (PAP), criteria (PAC), leadership (PAL), and methods of evaluations (PAE) on employee's motivation as well as their relationships with job performance. Besides, the study sought to fill the literature gap on the performance management field in the context of Qatar for future research. In the course of this study, descriptive research design was adopted in the form of a survey. The survey was distributed, and 294 responses were collected. The conclusion of the finding was that the PAP and PAE had impacts on employee's motivation and job performance, while PAC and PAL did not. In addition, the findings illustrate a positive correlation between employee's motivation and performance. Human Resource managers of organizations may use findings to better support employees' motivation and performance

Chemical Composition and in vitro Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Citrus aurantium L. Flowers Essential Oil (Neroli Oil)

Neroli essential oil is extracted from the fragant blossoms of the bitter orange tree. It is one of the most widely used floral oils in perfumery. In this study chemical composition and in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of neroli oil are investigated. The essential oil of fresh Citrus aurantium L. Flowers (Neroli oil) cultivated in North East of Tunisia (Nabeul) were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. About 33 compounds were identified, representing 99% of the total oil. Limonene (27,5%) was the main component followed by (E)-nerolidol (17,5%), α-terpinyl acetate (11,5%) and (E,E)-farnesol (8%). Antimicrobial activity was determined by Agar-well-diffusion method against 6 bacteria (3 Gran-positive and 3 Gram-negative), 2 yeasts and 3 fungi. Neroli oil exhibited a marked antibacterial activity especially against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, Neroli oil exhibited a very strong antifungal activity determined by ABTS assay showed IC₅₀ values of 672 mg L-¹. Finally, this study may be considered as the first report on the biological properties of this essential oil. The results of this study have provided a starting point for the investigations to exploit new natural substances present in the essential oil of C. aurantium L. flowers

Eucalyptus oleosa Essential Oils: Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of the Oils from Different Plant Parts (Stems, Leaves, Flowers and Fruits)

Essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the different parts (stems, adult leaves, immature flowers and fruits) of Eucalyptus oleosa were screened for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties and their chemical composition. According to GC-FID and GC-MS, the principal compound of the stem, immature flowers and the fruit oils was 1,8-cineole, representing 31.5%, 47.0% and 29.1%, respectively. Spathulenol (16.1%) and γ-eudesmol (15.0%) were the two principal compounds of adult leaves oil. In the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) assay, the oils of the four parts showed moderate antioxidant activity. In the ABTS (2,2’-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonate) assay, the most active part was the adult leaves, with a IC50 value 13.0 ± 0.6 mg/L, followed by stems (IC50 = 43.5 ± 1.4 mg/L). The essential oils showed a better antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and a significant antifungal activity also was observed against yeast-like fungi. A strong correlations between oxygenated monoterpenes and antimicrobial activity (especially 1,8-cineole) were noted (R2 = 0.99, 0.97 and 0.79 for B. subtilis, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans, respectively)

SMOS based high resolution soil moisture estimates for Desert locust preventive management

This paper presents the first attempt to include soil moisture information from remote sensing in the tools available to desert locust managers. The soil moisture requirements were first assessed with the users. The main objectives of this paper are: i) to describe and validate the algorithms used to produce a soil moisture dataset at 1 km resolution relevant to desert locust management based on DisPATCh methodology applied to SMOS and ii) the development of an innovative approach to derive high-resolution (100 m) soil moisture products from Sentinel-1 in synergy with SMOS data. For the purpose of soil moisture validation, 4 soil moisture stations where installed in desert areas (one in each user country). The soil moisture 1 km product was thoroughly validated and its accuracy is amongst the best available soil moisture products. Current comparison with in-situ soil moisture stations shows good values of correlation (R>0.7R>0.7) and low RMSE (below 0.04 m3 m−3). The low number of acquisitions on wet dates has limited the development of the soil moisture 100 m product over the Users Areas. The Soil Moisture product at 1 km will be integrated into the national and global Desert Locust early warning systems in national locust centres and at DLIS-FAO, respectively

Islamism and the state after the Arab uprisings: Between people power and state power

The authors would like to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council for facilitating the research for this article through their support of the research network People Power versus State Power of the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World.This paper examines the trajectories of different Islamist trends in the light of the Arab uprisings. It proposes a distinction between statist and non-statist Islamism to help understand the multiplicity of interactions between Islamists and the state, particularly after 2011. It is outlined how statist Islamists (Islamist parties principally) can contribute to the stabilization and democratization of the state when their interactions with other social and political actors facilitate consensus building in national politics. By contrast when these interactions are conflictual, it has a detrimental impact on both the statist Islamists, and the possibility of democratic politics at the national level. Non statist-Islamists (from quietist salafi to armed jihadi) who prioritize the religious community over national politics are directly impacted by the interactions between statist Islamists and the state, and generally tend to benefit from the failure to build a consensus over democratic national politics. Far more than nationally-grounded statist Islamists, non-statist Islamists shape and are shaped by the regional dynamics on the Arab uprisings and the international and transnational relations between the different countries and conflict areas of the Middle East. The Arab uprisings and their aftermath reshaped pre-existing national and international dynamics of confrontation and collaboration between Islamists and the state, and between statist and non-statists Islamists, for better (Tunisia) and for worse (Egypt).PostprintPeer reviewe

Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background: There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low-and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods: Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results: Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion: For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe