Digital Commons Network^™

Climate Changes And Their Psychological And Social Repercussions Among A Sample Of Residents Of Akkar Governorate, Layal Al Rifai

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

The study aimed to know the psychological and social repercussions of climate change among a sample of residents of Akkar Governorate in northern Lebanon in light of the variables of gender, economic status, and age group. The study adopted the descriptive analytical approach using the questionnaire as a tool for collecting data and information. The sample numbered 380 individuals, distributed according to the variables of gender, economic status, and age group, and they were chosen randomly. The sample members, residents of Akkar Governorate, feel a moderate degree of environmental anxiety and the psychological repercussions of environmental changes. The results showed …

The Impact Of Cold Weather On Mood And Cognitive Styles Among A Sample Of Residents Of The Coastal Area Of ​​Tripoli, Wissal Halabi

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

The study aimed to investigate the impact of weather coldness on mood and cognitive styles among a sample of coastal area residents in Tripoli and a sample of residents from the mountainous region in Sir Al-Dinniyah area, Northern Lebanon. The sample consisted of 400 participants from the coastal area and 400 from the mountainous area, equally divided by gender (males, females). The study followed an analytical descriptive approach, utilizing the Positive Thinking Scale and the Mood State Scale after confirming their socio-metric characteristics. The statistical results revealed significant differences between the average scores of the population in the coastal areas …

The Role Of Climate Security Content On Instagram In Changing The Lifestyle Of Lebanese Society, Mariam Mohamad Hussein

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

This study aimed to reveal the extent of Lebanese society’s interest in environmental affairs and the Instagram platform’s audience’s uses of environmental pages, in order to shed light on the extent to which environmental content on Instagram contributes to changing individuals’ lifestyle and identify the most prominent changes related to a lifestyle that contributes to confronting climate change. This study is a descriptive research utilizing a sample survey. The questionnaire tool was employed to gather data from a random sample of 400 individuals from the Lebanese community. The sample was selected based on a quota sample considering the place of …

A Review Of Socially Responsible Hrm Practices In The Lebanese Healthcare Sector, Maya Issam Houri, Abdul Rahman Beydoun

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

This study reviews the existing literature on Socially Responsible Human Resource Management practices on both nurses' performance and their intention to stay which constitute important factors of nurses’ decisions to stay in the healthcare sector in Lebanon. It also focuses on the current knowledge about existing literature in socially responsible HRM. This literature review highlights on the current knowledge about the determinant factor and the importance of socially responsible HRM practices and key outcomes for nurses. It suggests that socially responsible HRM practices, covering initiatives such as training, performance evaluation, compensation, work-family balance and occupational health and safety practices, may …

Exploring Co-Creation And Co-Destruction In The Lebanese Banking Sector During The Financial Crisis, Soumaya Kaakour, Alaaeldine Abbass Ali

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

This paper aims to comprehend co-creation/co-destruction value by studying in details the misbehavior incident between Lebanese private banks customers and frontline staffs during the financial crisis. The collected data includes 45 interviews in total, 20 frontline bank employees and 25 customers by structured interviews. The qualitative approach applied the thematic analysis (TA) to answer the research queries and A NVivo 11 software is applied to analyze the data coding. Findings indicated that co-creation exist when there is an effective communication between bank customers and frontline employees and when clients are delighted and feel valued while meeting his service. Co-destruction came …

Patients’ Attitudes Towards Medical Students’ Participation In Procedures And Clinical Examinations In Lebanon, Rim Taleb, Racha Ftouni, Malak Abdel Khalek, Lama Uweis, Ali Yassine, Hussein Shoumar

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Medical practice revolves around patients’ safety and ensuring their well-being. Patients’ cooperation with medical students in their examination and management is an indispensable aspect of clinical education. They have the right to accept or refuse the participation of students in their care. However, students need to be integrated in this learning process. This presents a conflict between patients’ healthcare rights and medical students’ learning opportunities. Therefore, this study aims to explore patients’ attitudes towards the participation of medical students in procedures and examinations in Lebanon and identify the factors that affect their participation. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using …

The Dependence Level Among Adolescent Vape Users: A Cross-Sectional Study, Violette Abo Karnib, Ghenwa Abedallhalim, Adam Ikkawi, Housam A. Saad, Hiba Deek

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Vape is a battery-powered device that works by heating a liquid called “e-liquid”. The use of vape has significantly increased in the past years among high and middle school students. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the level of dependence among adolescent vape users in Lebanon and to assess their knowledge about vape health hazards. A descriptive cross-sectional study with a self-administered questionnaire. A link for the survey was generated on Google Forms and sent to adolescents in the community. The survey was sent to parents of vape users and after their approval, it was shared with …

An Observational, Retrospective, Study To Assess Sehetna Wellness Program Impact On Employees’ Well-Being And Health, Wafaa Saeed, Lina Shaker, Laila Ghanem, Mohamed El Aziz, Omer Mostafa, Rabab Youssef

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Wellness is an ongoing process that leads to realizing one's full potential, with studies showing reduced inpatient admissions, healthcare costs, and improved health-related quality of life through participation in large-scale wellness programs. SEHETNA program is a wellness initiative conducted with the Egyptian Group for Import and Export (EGMED) to enhance employees’ well-being. This study aimed to assess the SEHETNA wellness program impact on the general health of employees. This is a retrospective descriptive observational study including employees enrolled in wellness program for up to 12-months in 2021. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive analysis was done, categorical variables …

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 …

Knowledge And Attitude Of Lebanese Adults Towards Asthma In Beirut, Lebanon, Farah Hatem Haidar, Doaa Issa, Maha Aboul Ela, Karim Raafat

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Asthma, a serious global health problem, has been an area of interest due to its increasing prevalence, expanding treatment costs, and rising burden on patients and the community. Since asthma cannot be cured, clinical episodes can be prevented and controlled by adequate management and sufficient knowledge of the disease. Appropriate treatment may relieve asthma symptoms and improve quality of life. However, poor knowledge of asthma disease and medication use, misdiagnoses, misuse of inhalers and inadequate self-management of disease symptoms may have a greater impact on the disease process. Therefore, assessment of the population’s knowledge and attitude toward asthma is essential. …

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 …

Human Gender Classification Using Kinect Sensor: A Review, Hesham Adnan Alabbasi, Florica Moldoveanu, Alin Moldoveanu

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Human Gender Classification using Kinect sensor aims to classifying people’s gender based on their outward appearance. Application areas of Kinect sensor technology includes security, marketing, healthcare, and gaming. However, because of the changes in pose, attire, and illumination, gender determination with the Kinect sensor is not a trivial task. It is based on a variety of characteristics, including biological, social network, face, and body aspects. In recent years, gender classification that utilizes the Kinect sensor became a popular and essential way for accurate gender classification. A variety of methods and approaches, like machine learning, convolutional neural networks, sport vector machine …

Investigating Factors Affecting Customer Repeated Purchasing Intention In Online Shopping: The Mediating Role Of Satisfaction, Maram Darkhabani

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

This research examines the relationship between website quality, customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, and repeated online purchasing intention in Lebanon. A quantitative approach was used, and data from 385 online shoppers were collected through an online survey. The results indicate that website quality significantly predicts customer perceived value, satisfaction, and repeated online purchasing intention. Customer perceived value also predicts satisfaction and purchase intention, while satisfaction predicts repeated online purchasing intention. These findings highlight the importance of website quality in shaping customer perceptions, satisfaction, and repeated online purchasing behavior.

The research suggests that improving website quality, offering high-quality services, personalized experiences, …

The Impact Of Trust And Rewards On Online Purchasing Intention: The Mediating Role Of Attitudes, Jessica Farhat Tannoury

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

This study explores the relationship between trust, rewards, attitudes, and online purchasing intention, with attitudes serving as the mediator variable in the Lebanese context. Using a sample of 400 respondents, a structural equation model (SEM) was employed to test the hypotheses. The results showed a positive and significant relationship between trust and attitudes, as well as between rewards and attitudes. Additionally, attitudes were found to mediate the relationship between both trust and rewards on online purchasing intention. These findings highlight the importance of building trust and offering rewards to enhance consumers' attitudes towards online shopping, which ultimately leads to higher …

Impact Of Perceived Organizational Support, Employee Empowerment, And Organizational Commitment On Turnover Intention In The Lebanese Smes Sector: The Mediating Role Of Employee Engagement, Istivani Hilal

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

This study investigates the impact of perceived organizational support (POS), employee empowerment (EE), and organizational commitment (OC) on turnover intention (TI) in the Lebanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector. The study also examines the mediating role of employee engagement (EEG) in this relationship. A sample of 390 employees from SMEs in Lebanon was surveyed using a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that POS, EE, and OC are negatively related to TI in the Lebanese SMEs sector. Moreover, EEG mediates the relationship between POS, EE, and OC and TI. Specifically, the …

The Relationship Between Knowledge Economy And Environmental Pollution: Evidence From Arab Countries, Soulieka Alaeddine

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Air pollution is among the most convincing environmental threats in the Arab region. The knowledge economy has the potential to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) by promoting sustainable development and encouraging the creation and implementation of clean technology products that are more efficient and less environmentally harmful. The knowledge-pollution relationship and the validity of the EKC hypothesis were examined in this paper during the period 2000–2020 for a sample of 11 Arab countries, namely: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, and Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, using the extended environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework. The autoregressive distributed …

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 …

Assessment Of The Knowledge, Attitude, And Practice Towards Expired Drug Disposal Among The Community In Beirut City, Lebanon, Nada Khansa, Azza A. K. Gazy, Abdalla El-Lakany, Souraya Domiati

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

The global increase in pharmaceutical spending has led to enhanced international awareness of the unused and expired drug issues due to improper drug disposal's harmful economic, environmental, and health effects. Consequently, the study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice toward expired drug disposal among the community in Beirut City, Lebanon. A cross-sectional, observational, questionnaire-based study was conducted. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. The fact that improper disposal of expired medicine affects the environment and health was acknowledged by 70.7% of the 450 participants. Even though 72.2% of the participants knew that the best method for …

Community Pharmacists' Commitment To Preventive Measures During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Light Of The Economic Crisis In Beirut, Lebanon: A Simulated Client Study, Deema Rahme, Rania Itani, Samar Karout, Hani M. J. Khojah, Abdalla El-Lakany

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

The burden on community pharmacists has dramatically increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, where the increased number of clients demands adhering to optimal infection protective measures. We aimed to investigate the level of adopted COVID-19 preventative measures by Lebanese community pharmacies and the influencing factors. One hundred community pharmacies in Beirut, were randomly selected and inspected by a simulated client. Signs of face-mask use, declaration of COVID-19 infection, and social distancing were observed in 62%, 48%, and 35% of pharmacies, respectively. Body temperature screening was absent. Only 20% of the pharmacies had limitations for the number of clients, and only 31% …

The Effect Of Moderate Versus Deep Sedation On The Satisfaction And Length Of Stay Of Patients Undergoing Colonoscopy In A Lebanese Specialized Endoscopy Center, Ramadan Nhayle, Ahmad Tassi, Hussein Issa, Mohammad Itani, Mirna Fawaz

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Colonoscopy is one of the most common screening procedure to detect colorectal cancer. Sedation during colonoscopy decreases anxiety, discomfort, minimizes risks, and promotes the overall satisfaction of the patient. It’s a challenge for nurses to adopt a sedation regimen taking into consideration traditional and modern techniques and methods. Purpose: To compare moderate and deep sedation effects on satisfaction, length of stay, and overall experience of patients undergoing colonoscopy. Methods: A quasi-experimental research was conducted among 149 patients who responded to the Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale after been consented pre-procedure. Results: Statistically significant differences were demonstrated for almost most items …

The Relationship Between Caffeine Addiction And Stress Among Lebanese Medical Students In Lebanon, Ali Samaha, Maya Gebbawi, Najwa Yahfoufi, Ali Ghaddar, Abbas Samaha

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Stress and behavioral addiction are becoming major health problems growing in strength and prevalence. They are often associated with a large array of debilitating diseases and conditions including psychosocial impairments. Medical students remain a vulnerable territory for developing stress and addiction mainly relating to caffeine consumption. Methods: A cross-sectional design was utilized in this study. Results: The study revealed that academic and learning issues are the most stressful and alarming levels of caffeine dependence. Conclusions: This showed a high impact of academic issues on medical students stress and performance, which mandates thorough actions to be considered by both medical institutions …

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 …

Risk Tolerance, Time Horizon, And Estate Intentions: Just How Important Are “Circumstances And Associated Emotions”?, Abdul Rahman Beydoun, Karen Paul

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

This study tests the importance of socio-demographic and psychological variables for investor intentions, including risk tolerance, time horizon, and estate intentions. Overall, hope is the psychological variable most consistently related to the dependent variables of risk tolerance, time horizon, and estate intentions. Age, household income, investment experience, and work experience pale in comparison with the psychological variables of hope and openness to new experience, both of which are positively associated with the dependent variables. Pro-social attitudes are also important as a moderating variable. The most interesting findings are that women with higher levels of education have higher levels of risk …

Nurses’ Emotional Intelligence, Behavior And The Mediating Role Of Job Stress In Lebanon, Suzan S. Al Kadi, Abdul Rahman Beydoun, Alaaeldine A. Ali

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

The aim of this paper is to examine the influence of emotional intelligence, namely self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and management’s relationship on the nurse’s behavior within the Lebanese context. It specifically examines the indirect effect of the nurses’ EI and its sub skills on behavior, exit, voice, loyalty, neglect, through the mediating role of job stress. A total sample of subjects consisted of 365 registered nurses actively working in the Lebanese hospitals during the COVID 19 period. Mediation was tested using Baron and Kenny (1986)’s framework. The findings demonstrate that the EI elements (Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and management’s relationship) …

Factors Influencing Political Participation In Lebanon: The Mediating Role Of Perceived Congruence, Mahmoud A. El Homssi, Alaaeldin A. Ali, Amal Kurdi

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Abstract

This study analyzes the factors that influence political participation. These factors include: political information efficacy, political interest, community engagement, political party affiliation and perceived congruence. Moreover, this study addresses the mediating role of perceived congruence on the relationship between political interest, community engagement and political participation. A quantitative survey method was used and structured questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 412 respondents. The findings of this study revealed that political interest, community engagement, and political party affiliation have a positive effect on political participation. In addition, the results indicated that perceived congruence has no direct or mediate …