Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Healthcare Workers’ Biohazardous Spill Safe Handling Skills, Zeina Mhanna, Ahmad Tassi

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

All healthcare workers (HCWs) are exposed to biohazardous material. Biohazardous material may come in the form of spills, posing a risk of infection to (HCWs) who are not trained on how to safely handle them. While international guidelines recommend training HCWs on how to safely handle biohazardous spills in order to improve their skills, there are no studies that tackled this recommendation. The aim of this study is to improve HCWs’ biohazardous spill safe handling skills through training, and to evaluate the association between the HCWs’ improvement level and demographical characteristics. The study was conducted in a Southern Lebanese hospital …

Exploring Spatial Configuration For Effective Way-Finding In The Design Of Shopping Malls In Abuja - Nigeria, Jephthah I. Aigbe, Joy J. Maina, Musa L. Sagada

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Shopping malls are an integral feature of the urban environment. Abuja is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. With its thriving population, it has become a hub of urban activities. The presence of shopping complexes within the city is on a steady increase. Wayfinding is an activity that every shopper must engage in. The need for more wayfinding research in the Nigerian context is evident. A study was carried to explore spatial organization for effective wayfinding in shopping malls. Case study was carried out on three shopping malls in Abuja using a visual survey, questionnaire survey and Visibility …

Outdoor Artificial Lighting Effects On Livability Of Pedestrian Paths In Urban Heritage Context, Chirine Traboulsi, Aya Hassoun, Mostafa Rabea, Mary Felix

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Lighting is an important ecological factor that influences individuals’ outdoor activities as well as the development of livable communities in cities. Artificial outdoor lighting is vital in improving the quality of urban open places throughout the nighttime and has a significant impact on the pedestrians' night-time perception and mental safety. This study aims to uncover whether outdoor lighting has indeed an effect on the livability of the pedestrian paths of a community and if so, what is the optimal design that fits an urban heritage setting. The research employs a mixed methods approach, where both qualitative and quantitative methods are …

Towards Urban Biodiversity: Simulating Design Parameters For Wildlife-Inclusive Green Infrastrcuture, Alisa Abdulghany, Baher Farahat

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

As of 2021, more than half of the global population resides in urban areas. This resulted in an overwhelming footprint affecting species habitat areas leading to biodiversity loss. By definition, urban biodiversity is the diversity of living things within the urban realm. By providing chances for habitat as part of new developments, preserving on-site habitats, and attempting to connect with the local ecosystems, we can help promote biodiversity. Green infrastructure (GI), which includes all semi-natural areas in the urban context, can serve as a vessel for biodiversity. Therefore, the problem can be defined by the urban footprint that expands on …

Discussing Different Images Of Pharmaceutical Company, Roula Afif Bou Assi, Ola Bazaza

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Every organization is a complex, non-linear, and dynamic system. Gareth Morgan discussed eight different metaphors where they can be useful devices to create mental images to clarify and interpret our organizations. These eight metaphors are: machine, organism, brain, culture, political, flux and transformation, psychic prisons and instruments of domination. This combination of metaphors helps us understand our organization, analyze the structure, the leadership style (NAGY, December 2014). In this paper I will discuss the different metaphors of a pharmaceutical company (X). It is a growing pharmaceutical company, where reading and analyzing the different metaphors will definitely help them to prepare …

Knowledge And Misconceptions Among Lebanese Community On Immunizations, Hala Ahmadieh, Tala Safa, Ihab Nahle, Yahya Obeid, Dalal Hariri, Etaf Rawass, Tala Kanaan, Ahmad Sabalbal

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Two centuries ago, immunization practices have become the greatest land mark in medical history as they significantly contributed to a decline in several major infectious diseases worldwide thus decreasing both the mortality and morbidity. Moreover, they have been able to eradicate small pox and eliminate poliomyelitis in most regions of the world. However, in recent years the general opinion towards vaccination began shifting due to the emergence of certain opposing views to it, questioning the vaccine's safety and efficacy. This study aims to shed light on the vaccination status in Lebanon by assessing the knowledge, attitude, awareness, and misconceptions among …

Mindful Space In Sentences - A Dataset Of Virtual Emotions For Natural Language Classification, Han Tu, Chunfeng Yang

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Spatial emotions have played a critical role in visual-spatial environmental assessment, which can be assessed using bio-sensors and language description. However, information on virtual spatial emotion assessment with objective emotion labels and natural language processing (NLP) is insufficient in literature. Thus, designers’ ability to assess spatial design quantitatively and cost effectively is limited before the design is finalized. This research measures the emotions expressed using electroencephalograms (EEGs) and descriptions in virtual reality (VR) spaces with different parameters. First, 26 subjects experienced 10 designed virtual spaces with a VR headset (Quest 2 device) corresponding to the different space parameters of shape, …

Simulating Human Senses To Improve Thermal Comfort, Ahmed Marey, Nihal Alsabbagh

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Between the synergies of environmental perception and technological advancement evolves the parallel world of the metaverse. Evolutionary virtuality intends to aid humanity in envisioning the threatened future of cities under environmental risks through tailored features. Traditionally, the sense of sight – which is the focus of virtual reality – has dominated the architectural practice. However, architects and urban designers have begun incorporating other senses into their work over the recent decade. The expanding understanding of the multimodal nature of the human mind that has evolved from cognitive neuroscience research has received little attention so far in the architecture field. This …

Low-Cost Portable Wireless Electroencephalography To Detect Emotional Responses To Visual Cues - Validation And Potential Applications, Ahmed Marey, Sherif Goubran

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

This paper validates the using a low-cost EEG headset – Emotiv Insight 2.0 – for detecting emotional responses to visual stimuli. The researchers detected, based on brainwave activity, the viewer’s emotional states in reference to a series of visuals and mapped them on valance and arousal axes. Valence in this research is defined as the viewer’s positive or negative state, and arousal is defined as the intensity of the emotion or how calm or excited the viewer is. A set of thirty images – divided into two categories: Objects and Scenes – was collected from the Open Affective Standard Image …

Online Consumer Purchasing During The Pandemic Of Covid-19: An Applied Study In Lebanon, Soumaya M. Kaakour

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Technological development essentially transformed the foundation of global businesses. Business operations started to move from traditional to advance digitalized practices which gave rise to the e-commerce business, making the online environment more competitive. Despite such changes, there remains a consumer that is not involved in online shopping especially in developing countries. The spread of COVID-19 pandemic has caused radical changes to the way the consumer form intention and behavior toward digitalized solutions. This paper analyzes the impact of buying impulse, attitude, subjective norms, enjoyment and trust on consumer purchasing intention during the pandemic using a sample of 306 Lebanese citizens. …

Beirut Arab University Faculty Of Architecture Design & Built Environment Yearbook 2021-2022, Beirut Arab University, Faculty Of Architecture - Design And Built Environment, 2023

Yearbooks

The Faculty of Architecture - Design and Built Environment is proud and honored to release the seventh edition of the Yearbook, comprising the most prominent endeavors of the academic year 2021-2022. The work contained on the following pages gives a small glimpse of the diversity, sense of invention, exploration, passion and significance that characterize and define the design outputs from the studios and courses of Architecture and Design programs.

Architectural Representations Of Human Rights, El-Bastawissi Y. Ibtihal, Youssef Maged

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

The United Nations defines the Human Rights as the rights of all human beings, regardless of race, gender, language, religion, nationality, or any other status. These rights include all claims to live freely, to educate and work in equality, and to inhabit humanistic urban and architectural spaces. Throughout the history of architecture, civilisations have generated different perspectives towards respecting the human rights. Temples of Ancient Egyptian Architecture crushed the human scale to introduce religious experiences to their visitors. Tibetan temples over mountains enforced people to make anti-humanistic journeys to reach them. After thousands of years, the mega-scale palaces and cathedrals …

Exploring The Attributes Of Open Public Spaces In The Developing Cities, Aya Chehab

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Open Public Spaces, according to Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), are vital elements of urban fabrics that animate communities in cities. These significant spaces not only provide the residents with different facilities, but also promote social, economic, environmental and health opportunities. Successful open public spaces meet the needs of people of various social classes, ethnicities, and different backgrounds in general. Despite its importance within the city, the lack of appropriate design and planning strategies in developing cities have resulted in a degradation of the urban environment and subsequently the quality of urban life. The problem needs to …

The Five Big Factors Of Personality Among Displaced Syrians And Palestinians Refugees Living In Lebanon, Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek, Mayssah A. El Nayal, Olfat Khalil Mahmoud

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Syrian refugees in Lebanon are a major challenge at the social, economic and psychological levels, in addition to the issue of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon in the wake of the Naksaa of 1948. The main hypothesis of this study is that the difficult circumstances experienced by the displaced may affect their personality traits. The sample consisted of 430 individuals, (n=204) Syrian refugees and (n=226) Palestinian refugees of both sexes. All the members of the sample responded to the Arabic Inventory of the Five Big Personality Factors. The inventory enjoys good to high alpha coefficients in both samples, and was …

Platonic Love Poetry: Feminist Literature In The Umayyad Era, Samir Itani

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Readers of Platonic Love pieces, that were popular in the Umayyad era and spread in Arab society until almost a century after its demise, observe its uniqueness in terms of presenting the personalities of poets in a distinguished way as to men in that time in respect of cultural features. The stories also include extraordinary events that drive them away from the real framework, which critics used to believe, and puts them in an artistic framework that seeks to present a possible reality that is not achieved in actuality. Perhaps this is due to the reasons; one of the most …

Partial Systems' Analysis Of Traffic Noise Reduction In Tarik Al Jadidah, Beirut, Ibtihal Y. El-Bastawissi, Nour El Baba, Shireen Khalil, Nour El Hage, Rouba Joumblat, Franz Gatzweiler

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Traffic noise is considered one of the main pollutants in an urban space and has multiple side effects regarding the physical and mental health of the human being. Tarik Al Jadidah, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Beirut City- Lebanon, is selected as urban area for a project-based initiative and the focal point of different studies in BAU Urban Lab. The area suffers from various urban problems, but prominently traffic noise that highly damages the urban residents' quality of life due to its high levels of traffic noise that surpasses the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

BAU Urban …

Interleukin-16 Rs4778889 Polymorphism And Its Interaction With Interleukin-10 Rs1800896 Polymorphism Increase The Risk For Knee Osteoarthritis In The Lebanese Population, Zeina El-Ali, Fouad Ziade, Hassan Zmerly, Nisrine Bissar

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

To investigate the effect Interleukin-16 (IL-16) and Interleukin-10 (IL-10) polymorphisms, and their interaction, on knee osteoarthritis (KOA) risk in the Lebanese population. Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) genotyping assay was performed to determine IL-16 rs4778889, rs11556218, and rs4072111 and IL-10 rs1800896 polymorphisms in 118 patients diagnosed with KOA ( ≥ 2 points on Kellgren-Lawrence (K&L) radiological classification scale) and 70 controls matched for age and gender (K&L score ≤ 1). After adjusting for age, gender, presence of metabolic disorders, smoking and drinking status, our findings suggest that rs4778889 TT genotype increases the risk for KOA compared to the combined CC …

Assessment Of The Lebanese Community Pharmacist Knowledge, Practice And Barriers Regarding The Prevention Of Osteoporosis, Noura Issa Khram, Maha Aboul Ela, Mohamad Ali Hijazi, Lama Soubra

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Osteoporosis is a silent skeletal disease that is often recognized when fractures occur as a result of minimal trauma. Limited studies have assessed the degree of pharmacists’ involvement in osteoporosis prevention, risk-assessment/screening and physician referrals. To assess the Lebanese community pharmacists’ knowledge, practice and barriers regarding osteoporosis prevention. Secondary aim is to assess the pharmacists’ ability to identify high-risk patients who should be referred for bone mineral density (BMD) testing. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Beirut, Lebanon between September and October 2020 using self-administered questionnaire. Pharmacists completed a multi-component questionnaire that consisted of socio-demographic characteristics, practices, knowledge and …

The Framework For Evaluating Children’S Wellbeing As Related To Their Active School Traveling (Ast), Marwa Charkas

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Investigating wellbeing-related concerns nowadays is greater than ever. This extends to all aspects of human beings’ daily life. In this context, children’s wellbeing is having an increasing interest as they are the core constituents of tomorrow’s world. Studies have affirmed the vital role of children’s physical activities as catalysts for all domains of their wellbeing. Active school traveling is one of these daily activities practiced by children frequently. The way it is practiced, and its interrelated activities are profoundly affecting children’s feeling and accordingly their well-being. However, the paper builds an argument about conceptualizing an applicable understanding of wellbeing. Reviewing …

Cycling Safety Problems In Urban Context, Boushra Naim, Mary Felix

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Cycling as an urban peculiarity has been well-informed as far as quantifiable area plan characteristics like road lattices, cycle paths, misfortunes; in any case, there is less exploration that objectives the security issues in metropolitan climate. This review portrays the consequences of subjective examination led with bikers and other street users. This phase of exploration has been dominatingly 'descriptive', determined to give a guide of the scope of security related inspirations, perspectives, insights, and conduct among cyclists and other street users. Cycling meets with a scope of strategy issues, going from street wellbeing to difficulties and failures. The outcomes in …

The Need For An Integrated Preschool Efl Curriculum In Lebanon, Amal J. Yazigy Dr.

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

An Integrated Curriculum for Preschool enriches the children’s linguistic environment that leads to better, more natural learning of the target language and concepts of different fields. This paper starts by reviewing available literature about child development, foreign language learning, EFL in this context, and the integrated curriculum. The development of a holistic curriculum for preschoolers in Lebanon is given taking into consideration the healthy cognitive, emotional, and psychomotor development of preschoolers.

The Feasibility Of Using A Phenomenological Approach To Explicate The Experience Of Being-In-Community: Experience Of Reviving The Marine Heritage In Bahrain, Islam Hamdy Elghonaimy, Layal Tahsine Ahmed Channaa

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

The strategic location of Bahrain and its wealthy marine and coastal environment were the main drivers for the country’s flourishment before the discovery of oil. For a long time, Bahrain has functioned as a pioneer maritime trade center and represented a significant trade transit route between the east and west that transfers the affluent marine productions. This mainly formed an eminent cultural heritage for the country reflected within its inveterate maritime history and the authentic bond between the Bahraini grandparents and the sea. Unfortunately, along with the life evolution, this bond became weak and the biodiversity of the country’s marine …

The Role Of Theme Parks In Creating Sustainable Development, Islam Hamdy Elghonaimy, Salma Alsaeed

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Theme parks offer various types of entertainment that compete in both local and international markets. They include attractions, rides, arcade games, souvenir shops, and restaurants. Over the years, the industry has been growing due to the increasing tourism rates. Designing a project like an indoor theme park would increase tourism rates, leading to a boost in the country’s economic status. The success of a theme park depends highly on the demand and user’s selection of the theme. The setting and location also play a vital role in the success of the park. The purpose of this research is to introduce …

Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Regarding The Use Of Antibiotics: A Cross-Sectional Study From A Rural Area Of Lebanon, Carine Mounzer, Safaa Baydoun, Ranya Amer, Jamilah Borjac

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Despite the presence of a national policy restricting the easy access to antibiotics, irrational use of antibiotics continues to be widespread both in human use and livestock production in Lebanon. This study targets the general population in the rural region of Bekaa to assess their knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards antibiotic use. A cross sectional questionnaire was completed by 1151 participants, through face-to-face interviews. Study population was randomly selected. Descriptive statistics and correlation tests were applied in data analysis. 69.2% of participants had a very poor knowledge about antibiotics. More than 70% believed that viral infections may be treated …

The Impact Of Emerging Technology On Nurses Caring Behavior During Blood Pressure Monitoring For Adult Patients At General Hospitals, Kuwait., Eman Al Awade, Hanan Alnuqaidan, Marthal Johnson, Hoda Diab

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Introduction: The nursing profession has advanced immensely from the onset. Remarkable changes in medical technology facilitated patients’ survival and treatments which were unimaginable during the period of Florence Nightingale. Although, technology empowered the nurses to provide quality care to patients, some of these technologies can break the bond of therapeutic nurse - patient relationship and make it mechanical, instead. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate nurses caring behavior during blood pressure monitoring with manual and electronic devices. Objective: Compare the nurses caring behavior while monitoring blood pressure by electronic and manual devices. Methods: a descriptive comparative design …

Developing Design Guidelines Towards Safer Park: The Case Of Ramlet El Baida, Valerie Nader Kassem, Ayman Afify

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Public urban park is a very important feature in the city, it is responsible for the behavior of the cities and gives an identity of the city besides country to portray it in front of the people. Well maintained park leads to healthy life and well-being. Also, it holds social value and attachment of people to it. Despite wide consensus on the importance of public parks for city dwellers’ social lives as well as their physical and mental health, popular discourses and journalist reports reflect a growing demonetization of public space in many cities around the world. This is because …

An Exploration Of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (Cpted) Principles For Enhancing Safety And Security In The Design Of Adamawa State University Students’ Hostel, Mubi, Benjamin Moral, Mudashir Gafar

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

People across the world face growing insecurity, violent conflict spreading and intensifying and the natural systems on which human life depends on, is in jeopardy. Also, today the security condition of student hostel has become one of the major challenges facing Nigerian institutions, with continual media coverage of the state of insecurity of the students’ hostel, level of theft, burglary, abductions, and kidnappings. This research set out to proffer solutions to the rising insecurity challenges in the students’ hostel. This was achieved through the development of a framework from CPTED, on architectural strategies used to deter crime from thriving in …

New Considerations In Designing The Circulation Elements To Reduce Covid 19 Infection, Sara Chamass, Selim Kilani, Anas Mattar

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

As a result of the global pandemic recession of COVID-19, cities have imposed several restrictions to control this outbreak by closing their frontiers and forcing social distancing. The conjecture has arisen as to how architecture could be entirely influenced. This field is involved in finding solutions to reduce the spread of this pandemic which became a new issue. Unfortunately, due to the shortage of the movable and flexible circulation elements, the considerations and architectural preventive measures taken were affected during the planning of the post-pandemic built-environment. This paper, therefore, aims to propose a checklist of new design considerations for the …

A Comparison Between The Psychometric Properties Of The Revised Original And Short Psychoticism Scale Derived From Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised Among Kuwaiti Undergraduatesمقارنة بين الخصائص السيكو مترية للصورة الأصلية والقصيرة لمقياس الذهانية المتفرع من استخبار" آيزنك" المعدل للشخصية لدى عينات من طلبة جامعة الكويت, Badr M. Ansari, Talal B. Alali

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Abstract: The aim of this study is to compare the psychometric properties of the original version and the short version of the Psychoticism Scale, which are Derived from Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. In this study, a sample consisting of (1842) students from Kuwait University (538) male and (1304) female students were used in this study to examine the gender differences and to test the reliability and validity for Psychoticism Scale which are derived from original (EPQ-R) and the short version (EPQR-S) . The Original (EPQ-R) and Short (EPQR-S) Psychoticism Scales, the short version of the NEO FFI-S, and the Big …

Open Spaces As Vibrant Places To Reduce Social And Physical Fragmentation. Case Of Beirut Cornish, Lebanon, Nehmat K. Karim, Ayman Afify

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

According to UN Habitat, as had been mentioned in The Journal of Public Spaces 2018 Under title “Lebanon Cities’ Public Spaces”, and based on the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations regarding the minimum required area of Public spaces in the cities, the following had been noticed: Beirut city has few public spaces that are always rapist from the local government without having the ability to face. At the present time, the capital suffers from distinct lack of public spaces where the various population groups can meet and come along. Despite the fact that an open public space in Beirut would …