Faculty Work (AUS Sustainability)
http://hdl.handle.net/11073/8135
Works published by the faculty of the American University of Sharjah related to Sustainability.2024-03-28T21:36:22ZOutcomes and Key Factors of Success for ISO 14001 Certification: Evidence from an Emerging Arab Gulf Country
http://hdl.handle.net/11073/16655
Outcomes and Key Factors of Success for ISO 14001 Certification: Evidence from an Emerging Arab Gulf Country
Waxin, Marie-France; Knuteson, Sandra; Bartholomew, Aaron
The objectives of this research were: (1) To examine the outcomes and key factors of success (KFS) related to ISO 14001 certification, (2) to compare and contrast these in private organizations (PRIVOs) and public organizations (PUBOs), and (3) in the under-explored context of an Arab Gulf country with an emerging economy: The United Arab Emirates. We used an exploratory, qualitative research approach, based on semi-structured interviews with the environmental managers of 14 UAE organizations from the private and public sector. The five major outcomes of ISO 14001 certification were improved: (1) Environmental performance, (2) organizational reputation and relationships with stakeholders, (3) organizational efficiency, (4) environmental management (EM) practices, and (5) environmental awareness. These outcomes were shared by PRIVOs and PUBOs, although improved resource management, improved relations with stakeholders, and improved EM practices were more common in PUBOs, and improved organizational efficiency was more common in PRIVOs. The six KFS for implementation were: (1) Senior management’s support, (2) employees’ awareness, involvement and competence, (3) government initiatives and commitment, (4) sufficient organizational resources, (5) adoption of a continuous, integrative, and collaborative approach, and (6) the use of external consultants. These KFS were shared by PRIVOs and PUBOs, although government initiatives and commitment were more common in PUBOs, and sufficient resources were more common in PRIVOs. Our study contributes to a better understanding of environmental management system implementation in emerging countries in general, and in Arab Gulf countries particularly. Our study has implications for business leaders, policy makers, EMS professionals, and educators in the UAE and other emerging countries.
2019-01-01T00:00:00ZExpatriate time to proficiency: individual antecedents and the moderating effect of home country
http://hdl.handle.net/11073/16654
Expatriate time to proficiency: individual antecedents and the moderating effect of home country
Waxin, Marie-France; Brewster, Chris; Ashill, Nicholas
The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct impact of individual variables (cultural openness, social orientation, willingness to communicate, confidence in own technical abilities, active stress resistance, prior international experience) on expatriate time to proficiency (TTP); and the moderating effects of the home country on the relationships between these individual variables and expatriate TTP.
2019-09-09T00:00:00ZMechanical and phytochemical protection mechanisms of Calligonum comosum in arid deserts
http://hdl.handle.net/11073/16639
Mechanical and phytochemical protection mechanisms of Calligonum comosum in arid deserts
Soliman, Sameh S.M.; Mohammad, Mohammad G.; El-Keblawy, Ali A.; Omar, Hany; Abouleish, Mohamed; Madkour, Mohamed; Elnaggar, Attiat; Hosni, Racha M.
Unlike animals, plants are sessile organisms, lacking circulating antibodies and specialized immune cells and are exposed to various harsh environmental conditions that make them at risk of being attacked by different pathogens and herbivores. Plants produce chemo-signals to respond to the surroundings and be able to distinguish between harmless and harmful signals. In this study, the production of phytochemicals as plant signaling mechanisms and their defensive roles in disease resistance and repelling herbivores are examined in Calligonum comosum. C. comosum is a leafless standalone perennial shrub widespread in sand dunes. The plant has the ability to survive the drastic environmental conditions of the arid/ hyperarid deserts of the Arabia. Structural anatomy and phytochemicals analyses were used to identify both mechanical and chemical defensive mechanisms in C. comosum. Microscopy-based investigations indicated that stems of this species developed hard structures in its outer layers including sclerenchyma and cluster crystals of calcium oxalate (CaOx). Sclerenchyma and CaOx are difficult to be eaten by herbivores and insects and can harm their mouthparts. On the other hand, the plant developed both short-distance (local) and long-distance (systematic over limited sphere) phytochemicals-producing cells located at its outer regions that is surrounding the inner nutrient-rich vascular system (VS). Local chemical was represented by phenolic idioblasts that were released in response to plant cutting. Systematic chemical was represented by toxic volatile oil containing ~50% benzaldehyde derivative (cuminaldehyde). The oil caused strong killing effect on both mammalian cells and microbial pathogens via either direct addition or indirect exposure to its vapor. The plants lost the oil content and allowed fungal growth once cut and dried. The localization of both defensive mechanisms to the outer region of the plant seemed to protect the inner nutrient-rich VS and hence maintained the plant survival. Surprisingly, in relation to traditional folklore use as medicine, local people use only green parts of the plant and only during the winter, where the plant found devoid of volatile oil and phenolic idioblasts. Moreover, it turns into recommendations for local people to avoid any health problems caused by the plant supply.
2018-01-01T00:00:00ZWomen, work and management in the Middle East
http://hdl.handle.net/11073/16634
Women, work and management in the Middle East
Rodriguez, Jenny; Ridgway, Maranda; Kemp, Linzi
The role and position of women in the Middle East continues to be the subject of much interest in discussion in the public arena and despite questions about their under-representation in work and management, their experiences remain under-researched and under-represented in the academic literature (Metcalfe et al., 2009; Kemp et al., 2013; Kemp and Madsen, 2014; Varma and Russell, 2016). In the past decade, the Middle East region has witnessed significant economic, demographic, generational, socio-cultural and political shifts that have had implications for women’s experiences of/at work and highlight the tensions in the role and agency of women as agents of transformational change. Instances such as the 2010 “Arab Spring” revolution saw significant political and economic turmoil resulting from efforts pushing for democratisation and equality (Moghadam, 2014; Bastian et al., 2018). For example, discussing the online activism of Arab feminists during the citizen revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, Newsom and Lengel (2012) outline the different uses women made of online social media to support social change, and their particular role in empowering themselves and others in order to challenge hegemonic and patriarchal norms and political oppression (p. 33). However, women’s own positions regarding existing socio-political structures have been fragmented and despite some women’s support for the revolution as a way of dissenting against the patriarchy, there is still support (from both men and women) of traditional views that result in societal segregated roles (Abdalla, 2015b). In the context of the strength of the role of religion and cultural norms in shaping the gender social order, and how their relationship governs women’s lives and work in the Middle East (Moghadam, 2003), these efforts set a different tone for the global understanding of the narratives of dissent from women in the Arab world.
2019-01-01T00:00:00Z