Showing papers by "Al Ain University of Science and Technology published in 2013"

Efficiency analysis of UAE banks using data envelopment analysis

Abstract: Purpose – The current study aims to explore and measure the profitability, marketability, and social disclosure efficiency of UAE banks using a nonparametric frontier method – data envelopment analysis (DEA).Design/methodology/approach – In order to estimate the relative efficiency of the Emirati banks based on three different dimensions: profitability, marketability and social disclosure, a sample of 20 listed Emirati banks in 2009 is first selected. Second, a disclosure index to measure the extent of their social disclosure is developed and utilized. Third, the input‐oriented version of DEA model is deployed to estimate their technical and scale efficiency.Findings – Based on nonparametric Wilcoxon signed rank test, paired‐difference t test and sign test, this study reports significant evidence that the UAE banks are performing much better in profitability and social disclosure activities than marketability activities. The results also provide additional evidence regarding the positive relation observed...

Artificial neural networks for medical diagnosis using biomedical dataset

Abstract: Artificial neural networks are a promising field in medical diagnostic applications. The goal of this study is to propose a neural network for medical diagnosis. A feed-forward back propagation neural network with tan-sigmoid transfer functions is used in this paper. The dataset is obtained from UCI machine learning repository. The results of applying the proposed neural network to distinguish between healthy patients and patients with disease based upon biomedical data in all cases show the ability of the network to learn the patterns corresponding to symptoms of the person. Three cases are studied. In the diagnosis of acute nephritis disease; the percent correctly classified in the simulation sample by the feed-forward back propagation network is 100% while in the diagnosis of heart disease; the percent correctly classified in the simulation sample by the feed-forward back propagation network is approximately 88%. On the other hand, in the diagnosis of disk hernia or spondylolisthesis; the percent correctly classified in the simulation sample is approximately 82%. Receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) curve are used to evaluate diagnosis for decision support.

Mapping information technology infrastructure library with other information technology standards and best practices

Abstract: Information Technology (IT) has become an important strategic resource that any organization has to ma nage. It has been recognized that IT services are crucial and strategic organizational assets, therefore, or ganizations are investing considerable amount of resources into the support and delivery of IT services and the sy stems that underpins them. Various IT standards and IT be st practices are being implemented by the enterpris es to support their business and IT services. A number of these standards are different from others but they contain some similarities. This study discusses these IT st andards and best practices and maps their processes to ITIL. CobiT, ISO/IEC 27002-2005, Six Sigma, TOGAF, eTOM, CMMI, PCI DSS and Common Security Framework (CSF) processes will be mapped to ITIL processes. This study will show the similarities betw een several IT standards and ITIL that helps in adoptin g these standards concurrently with ITIL. ITIL and other standards have many similarities that will benefit enterprises in implementing these standards concurr ently.

Efficiency analysis of GCC academic libraries: an application of data envelopment analysis

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and measure the relative efficiency of the academic libraries within the GCC countries in terms of their abilities to transform their allocated resources into a specific level of outputs using a non-parametric frontier method – data envelopment analysis (DEA). Design/methodology/approach – In order to estimate the overall efficiency score, as well as the technical and scale efficiency of the academic libraries within the GCC countries, online questionnaire is first addressed to academic libraries’ managers and directors. Second, three output measures – circulation, number of books added, and number of registered members and three input factors – number of books held, number of library staff, and the actual allocated budget are used in the analysis for the academic year 2010/2011. Third, the output-oriented version of DEA model is deployed to assess the performance and resource utilization efficiency of 11 academic libraries from the United Arab Emirates, Q...

Goodwill Accounting in the United Kingdom: The Effect of International Financial Reporting Standards

Abstract: The accounting treatment of goodwill has been the source of much debate and controversy amongst standard setters and financial report preparers in UK and many other countries. There have been great difficulties in the definition, measurement and subsequent accounting treatment for goodwill. Despite this, goodwill is a significant asset in many companies, whose existence and value are maintained by considerable annual expenditure. Accounting for goodwill changed in the UK in 2005 through the combined effects of the new International Accounting Standards, IFRS 3, Business Combinations, and IAS 36 Impairment of Assets. This paper critically examines, based on the accounting literature and professional standards, the change in accounting treatment for goodwill pursuant to international financial reporting standards (IFRSs) by reference to the UK accounting standards. It critically discusses and compares the former UK and new IFRS policies for goodwill accounting demonstrating the advantages of and arguments against the impairment-only approach to goodwill. It also highlights the sources of managerial discretion in testing goodwill for impairment and provides concluding remarks. Further studies are needed to examine the long-term effects of the impairment only approach to determine whether managers’ opportunistic choices or their incentives to convey their privately held information drive the recognition of goodwill impairments. The paper has implications for financial report prepares and users in highlighting conceptual issues of relevance that will arise in the application of the impairment-only approach to goodwill. It also provides a thorough review of the literature published on the accounting treatment for goodwill in the UK and provides avenues for future research.

Do Web 2.0 Applications Enhance Learning in Teacher Education in the UAE? An Exploratory Study

Abstract: This study investigated pre-service teachers' perceptions towards using blog and wiki applications to enhance their learning. It also examined pre-service teachers' perceptions towards the application that is more effective in their learning. The pre-service teachers' suggestions of other web 2.0 applications that can be used to promote learning were also explored in this study. For the purpose of this study, data was collected from 15 pre-services teachers using semi- structured interviews and the analysis of their postings on the blog and wiki platforms. The results revealed that participants perceived blog and wiki as powerful tools to enhance their learning. However, the majority of participants reported that the blog is more effective in learning than the wiki. Further, the study results showed that participants suggested several applications that can be powerful in enhancing learning such as Google Docs, Podcasts, and online forums. The findings of the study were discussed and recommendations for effective use of web 2.0 applications were made.

The perceptions of audit committees’ role in an emerging market: the case of Egypt

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the respondents’ perceptions of the role of audit committees in Egypt and their likely impact on the quality of financial reporting. Design/methodology/approach – In all, 217 usable questionnaires were collected from three groups of respondents, namely, accounting academics, external auditors and financial managers or senior accountants. For test-retest reliability purposes, seven respondents completed the questionnaire twice. Findings – The results indicate that the most important function for an effective audit committee to perform is to “review significant changes in accounting policies and practices”. The results also demonstrate that respondents have consistently ranked the different aspects of internal control evaluation as the second most important area to oversee. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of respondents have rated the independence of audit committee members and their experience in accounting or other related subjects as the most importan...

Faculty Retention in Higher Education

Abstract: Criteria for retaining or firing a highly qualified faculty in higher education in many cases are vague and unclear. This situation is neither a comfortable, nor a healthy, both for the faculty and the administration. Stakeholders have enough reason to blame each other in the absence of transparent mechanism. This paper proposes a transparent point system for both faculty and higher education administration based on three most important categories – Teaching (T), Research (R), and community Service (S). This proposed transparent point system will present solution to resolve confusion among stakeholders. Faculty based on this transparent proposed point system may perform well and administration based on this proposed point system may decide to retain the faculty.

Audit Committees Effectiveness and its Impact on the Objectivity of the Internal Auditors: Evidence from United Arab Emirates

Abstract: Internal auditors objectivity continue to be an important concept in the internal auditing profession, and audit committees can be viewed as a key safeguard mechanism for internal auditors in managing their professional objectivity. This study examines audit committee effectiveness and its impact on the objectivity of internal auditors in the bank sector in UAE. Data were obtained from all the banks listed in Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange using questionnaire technique. The research result reveals that there is significant positive effect of audit committee effectiveness on the objectivity of internal auditors; the results indicate that having an effective audit committee member will enhance the internal auditors objectivity. Also, the result shows significant positive effect on the objectivity of internal auditors related to having effective audit committee with authority over the CAE employment (appointment/dismissal). Also, the result indicates significant difference between the effectiveness of the audit committee members and the internal auditors objectivity related to qualifications, and no relationship between the effectiveness of the audit committee members and the internal auditors objectivity related to the experience. The research reveals that effective audit committees strengthen the position of the internal audit function by increasing the objectivity of internal auditors. Keywords: Audit Committee Effectiveness, Listed Banks, United Arab Emirates, Objectivity, Internal Auditors.

Students’ Motivation and Instructors’ Technology Use in Higher Education: A Case Study in the Gulf Region

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to research a problem presented in Middle East countries: Students’ boredom and lack of motivation to interact in their classrooms in higher education. The focus of the study was to find ways in which technology can be used as a means to motivate students to interact with each other and with the learning activities in classrooms. Keller’s motivational theory and its components ( Attention, Relevance, Satisfaction, Confidence [ARCS] ) provided the theory to address the relationship between technology and student interest in the classroom. Keller posited that these four categories operated together to motivate students to interact in the classroom. The study was conducted in a public college in the Gulf nation. The participants were 600 students and 30 instructors. Four surveys were used in this study; three of them were given to the students and one was given to the instructors. The findings supported Keller’s motivational theory and its components regarding using technology to motivate students to interact with their instructors, with the learning activities, and with each other. There was a significant correlation between using technology in classrooms and gaining students’ attention. There was a significant correlation between using technology and the relevance of the material presented in classrooms and students’ real life. There was a significant correlation between using technology and students’ confidence in participating in classrooms using technology. There was a significant correlation between using technology and students’ satisfaction with the material presented in classrooms. ARCS was significantly correlated with students’ learning experiences, students’ learning strategies, and computer use in course. Keywords: Students’ motivation, interaction, technology, ARCS model

Autonomous Ground Vehicle

Abstract: In today's world, science and technology is breaking the limits and proceeding towards the autonomous mechanism, in which the Artificial Intelligence is fueling the scenario and stretching its legs in almost every field of life. After looking into this phenomenon, a system is needed which can help us on roads too, for going to the sensitive areas where sending a human is a life threatening risk. So, some autonomous vehicle would be needed which can serve in those conditions by working for mankind and taking the decisions at its own to get the job done which was specified to it earlier. This paper is based on making such kind of ground vehicle which can serve us by going to the remote places at its own avoiding the obstacles in the route, and making it decisions according to the conditions with the help of the Artificial Intelligence provided to it. The major applications for AGV are in defense related areas or cargo controlling system.

Google translation service issues: religious text perspective

Abstract: Google Translate service is among the widely used services of its kind and supporting translation of 64 International languages. This paper presents and explores the process of machine translation used by Google Translation Service (GTS) which translates a given text or Website to desire language automatically. The paper will explore the translation process furnished by Google Translate Service with focus on the issues of the method used by Google along with the possibilities to improve the system and better utilization of it from the user point of view. The paper will also focus on translation of religious text from English to Urdu and Arabic to Urdu issues along with issues related Quranic and hadith translations. Finally this paper will propose the solution to avoid such translations ambiguities.

Exploring the Islamic view of spirituality and business

Abstract: While there is a growing interest in the relationship between spirituality and its role in the workplace, a limited number of studies have examined this issue. This study therefore examines spirituality and business from an Islamic perspective using a survey conducted among students in Al-Zaytoonah University in Jordan. The survey examines two issues. First, it investigates the relative importance of the different approaches to understanding the business-spirituality relationship. Second, it takes a closer look at the perception of Islamic ethical and spiritual work values.

Could Trade Liberalization Help Diversification the Algerian Economy

Abstract: Using cointegration analysis, this paper contends that trade liberalization in Algeria could lead to an appreciation of the real exchange rate, which in turn could hamper efforts aimed at diversification of the economy. Serious attention should be paid to institutional settings and economic structure of the recipient environment.

Information Literacy Skills: Promoting University Access and Success in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract: The focus of this research is to assess the level of information literacy (IL) skills required for the transition-to-university experience across the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This research further seeks to shed light on the IL levels of incoming first-year university students and describe their perceptions of their IL skills. The research population consisted of first-year students from three private universities in the UAE: G1 from Ajman University of Science and Technology (AUST), G2 from Al Ain University of Science and Technology (AAU), and G3 from Al Hosn University (AHU). The three groups were recruited from students enrolled in first year general education classes. A total of 90 students were asked to take an IL pre-test to assess the level of IL skills they possessed upon entering university. Because the authors are currently teaching at AAU, G2 was trained as part of their first-year research skills course at AAU, while the other two groups G1 and G3 did not receive IL training. At the end of the semester, the authors used post-testing to determine if IL training helped improve IL skills of the trained participants. The post-test was given to two groups, including G1, which did not receive any training, and G2, the only trained group. Pre-test results identified a gap between the expectations and existing skills vital for secondary and university-level education in all three groups. The post-test evaluation of skills showed statistically significant increases in all IL assessed competencies. The need for customized curriculum to address the IL deficits revealed by new students is evident.

Current Trends, Characteristics, Challenges and Future of P2P

Abstract: —Peer to peer (P2P) network is an approach of connecting computers in such a way that all connected computers share equivalent responsibility for processing data. The aim of this study to discuss the current Trends of P2P networks, which includes broad catching, new knowledge development in P2P and wireless devices in P2P. Later in this study P2P characteristics along with its challenges will be explored. Later this study will highlight on future trends of P2P such as, videos, audio casting and P2P mobile applications. Finally this study will conclude with future work in this field. Index Terms—P2P, trends in P2P, P2P challenges, future of P2P.

Life Skills teachers' readiness for their role: implications for Higher Education

Abstract: The aim of this study was an assessment of Life Skills (LS) teachers’ perceptions regarding their own level of ability to handle the teaching of LS in the second cycle of basic schooling . The population of this study consisted of all LS teachers teaching at the second cycle of the basic stage of schooling in Oman. A 53-item questionnaire was used to gather data regarding how satisfactory LS teachers felt concerning their level of ability to deal with LS teaching related roles in school. The survey included two sections, demographics and a five-point Likert-type scale. The second section, the perception scale, was designed to obtain information about LS teachers’ perceptions of their ability through the use of 53 expressions, or items, divided over six subscales. These subscales of the perception scale include: Planning, Execution, Assessment, technical content, vocational counseling, and administrative duties. The results revealed that LS teachers viewed themselves as being able and competent with regard to the skills covered in the areas of planning, assessment, administrative duties and execution. On the other hand, LS teachers perceived themselves as less competent in the topical areas of vocational counseling and technical content. The results also revealed lack of skills among LS teacher on integrating information and communications technology skills in LS teaching. Remedial strategies to raise LS teachers’ level of competence and recommendations for further research are presented.

Web-assisted Instruction (WAI) as a Promising Solution in Developing Countries in Higher Education: A Case Study in an Omani Governmental College

Abstract: The rising expectations for changing traditional classrooms, where chalk and talk as well as desks and texts are predominant, were accelerating because of the explosion of knowledge and the growing demands of the workforce ( Roschelle et al 2000 ) Accordingly, if the goal then is to educate and qualify every student, schools are challenged to create a way to move toward what is termed "student-centric" model and give every student a chance to learn and interact The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the effectiveness of technology integration (namely, web-assisted instruction) on students’ achievement and attitudes in a Middle Eastern college It was also the purpose of the study to examine whether WAI disrupted traditional teaching and encouraged educators to integrate it as a powerful means of instruction The main focus of the study was to propose WAI as a solution to address the diverse learning styles in the class Christensen’s disruptive innovation theory was used as the theoretical framework to investigate if WAI was disruptive to teaching methodologies and the way educators and administrators perceive innovations The research design was the pretest – posttest control group design and the study was conducted in a governmental gulf college The participants were 54 students from level 1 foundation English distributed in two classes; experimental and control Both classes were pre-tested and post-tested at the beginning and both were given a survey at the end of the fall semester 2011 Findings of the study substantiated the theory and revealed that freshman students who took a Core Course using WAI achieved higher test scores than those in the traditional class It was also found that students in the experimental class reported positive preference and attitudes for technology integration in their class, and students in the control class reported a great desire to have technology integrated in their class Keywords: web-assisted instruction, achievement, disruptive innovations, attitude, higher education

An Electronic Management System

Abstract: This is paper describes the features of the Electronic School Management System developed by the authors to the benefit of a private School at Al Ain City. The main goal of the system was to provide e-services and communication facilities for all the beneficiaries of the school. It provides access to the system by different users such as administrators, teachers, students and their parents. Access privileges and functionalities differ for each group of users. All day-to-day school business are converted to electronic version and made available online.

Evaluating the Delivery of Life Skills ( LS ) at the First Cycle of the Basic Education in the Sultanate of Oman : Teachers’ Perspectives

Abstract: This study aims at evaluating the delivery of Life Skills (LS) at the first cycle of the basic education in Oman. Information was sought relative to teachers’ perception of their abilities and confidence in implementing LS activities, the primary factors that affect teachers' initial involvement in LS, benefits of LS activities for children, how LS activities are being implemented, physical resources that teachers need in implementing LS activities, and barriers to the implementation of LS. The population of this study consisted of all teachers teaching at the first cycle of the basic stage of schooling in Oman (N=2396). A multi-stage random sampling approach was used to select 315 teachers using the 2010/2011 Ministry of Education (MoE) directory. A questionnaire was adopted and modified to gather the required data. To analyze the data, means and standard deviations as well as frequencies and percentages were computed for responses to each item. The study revealed that teachers at the first cycle of the basic education stage possess several skills related to LS delivery. The results, however, revealed that teachers at the first cycle lack the necessary skills to adopt problem-solving approach in the implementation of LS activities, in addition to their incompetency to integrate information technology in LS related instruction. Several barriers to LS delivery were also identified.

Developing an Architecture for Translation Engine using Ontology

Abstract: In translation, analyzing the input sequence in order to determine its grammatical structure with respect to the given formal grammar is called the parsing procedure (Bataineh & Bataine, 2009). In this research, the main idea of the proposed architecture is to utilize the WordNet ontology to be the syntactic guide along with the Transition Network Grammar to determine the grammatical structure for the text to be translated. This is followed by a mapping process between the source and target languages which will enhance the accuracy of the result. Also, it will guarantee that the output will be syntactically acceptable according to the target language rules. This research is an open research which is having ongoing results and developments. Herein, the main architecture is described to open the door for several future steps for further integration with other techniques and approaches. Keywords: Translation, WordNet, Transition Network Grammars, mapping engine, parsing procedure.

Risk management in private higher education: an asymmetric information approach

Abstract: Given government’s budget cuts and the spread of free market economy mechanisms, some Arab countries opened the field of higher education, which was a state monopoly, to the private sector. Many private universities and colleges have been established in these countries. It has been more than a decade for the existing universities to assess their performance. The main problem which affects higher education sector in these countries resides in risk management of the sector. The paper aims at highlighting the aspects of risk management in higher education in some Arab countries.

The Effect of the Corporatization of Dubai Financial Market on its Efficiency: An Empirical Study

Abstract: The paper investigates the effect of the corporatization of Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in November 2006 on its weak form efficiency through examining the behavior of the daily stock prices of three sets of data. The first one consists of the daily prices of 13 stocks listed in DFM for two years before the corporatization of DFM (covering the period from the beginning of November 2004 to the end of October 2006), the second set consists of the daily prices of the same 13 stocks listed in DFM but for two years after the corporatization of DFM (covering the period from the beginning of December 2006 to the end of November 2008) and the last set of data consists of the daily prices of 31 stocks listed in Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) for the same time period after the corporatization of DFM in November 2006. The paper tests two hypotheses. The first hypothesis compares the efficiency of DFM before and after corporatization whereas the other one compares the efficiency of DFM with that of ADX after the corporatization of DFM. The paper performs the Shapiro-Wilk Test to investigate the normality of the stock returns to decide on using autocorrelation or runs test. The results indicate that the returns of all the stocks listed in DFM and ADX do not follow normal distribution at alpha 5%, except one stock in ADX. So, the paper employs the non parametric runs test instead of the parametric autocorrelation to test the randomness. The results of Wald-Wolfowitz runs test reveal that the weak level of the efficiency of DFM through the two years right after its corporatization is higher than that the corporatization of DFM. In addition, the DFM is more efficient than ADX during the same time period of two years after the corporatization of DFM in November 2006. So, we can conclude that the corporatization of DFM in November 2006 results in improving its efficiency in the weak level. However, we have to interpret the results cautiously because we may enhance our knowledge about the effect of the corporatization of DFM on its efficiency if we use longer time series pre and post the event of corporatization and if we manage to control for the effect of the global financial crisis on the economy of Dubai and hence on the performance of DFM. In addition, future research may investigate the effect of DFM corporatization from a regulatory perspective through answering the following question: how does the Emirate Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) regulate DFM (as a corporation) and ADX (as a governmental exchange) if they continue as separate independent stock exchanges?

A Water-Saving Technique Using Embedded System

Abstract: A method for water-saving is presented in this paper. The proposed method is based on an electro mechanical approach and embedded system that is described mathematically. It describes a solution for water-saving in buildings by giving the ability to ensure that treasurer of water will never be empty before the maximum time T that the owner gives to the treasurer when it is filled with water. The rate of water pumped is altered based on water consumed at tr. Where tr is a random number generated by system. Simulation results in the last section shows that the method can save the water with different maximum time decided by the owner.