scholarly journals Gender Difference in Health Condition Among Emirati Adolescent: Role of Environment and Parent Perceptions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen Maghelal ◽  
Khaled Alawadi ◽  
Abeer Wahdain
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Marginal Effect ◽  
Planning Department ◽  
Walking To School

Abstract Background: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the developed nations in the middle-east with the obesity rate among the youth two to three times greater than the international standards. Therefore, this research aims to study the variation of perception of the built environment among Emirati male and female adolescents and their parents. Also, the role of determinants of the health condition of Emirati adolescents is analyzed. Method: A total of 335 students (aged 14-20) from six schools in the Al Ain region of Abu Dhabi Emirate and 250 parent responses were used to conduct the mean-test of perception of hindrances and multinomial logit of the health condition using the perception, behavior and built environment measures. Results: Emirati males perceive the built environment factors as barriers more than female adolescents. Parents perceive street-crossing (p<0.016) and sidewalk characteristics (p<0.020) to be more of a hindrance to walking to school than students. Traffic exposure and walkability at home and schools report a significant effect on the health condition of the Emirati adolescents along with the self-reported physical activity. Marginal effect reports sedentary and low-levels of activity predicts the probability of an Emirati adolescent being not just overweight or obese (p<0.001), but also underweight (p<0.05)Conclusion: Recommendations for parents and school authorities, Abu Dhabi Municipality and Urban Planning department, and to enhance the built environment are discussed. Also recommendation to address both, levels of obesity and being underweight, are discussed.

scholarly journals Influence of the Built Environment on Physical Activity Choices among Emirati Male and Female Adolescents: An Examination of Parents’ and Students’ Perceptions

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 444
Author(s):  
Praveen Maghelal ◽  
Khaled Alawadi ◽  
Sudha Arlikatti ◽  
Abeer Wahdain
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Human Development ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Male And Female

The UN Human Development Report 2020 ranked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as having achieved ‘very high human development’ and as being at the 31st position among all countries. Despite this, the ever increasing obesity rates among Emirati youth, higher than international standards, is alarming. This research aims at identifying how different perceptions of the built environment by parents and adolescents are likely to affect physical activity (PA) choices among male and female Emirati youth. This can help inform better health and education policies to achieve three of the interconnected UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely good quality health and well-being, quality education, and gender equality, that the UAE strives to achieve. Responses from 335 students (aged 14–20) from six schools and 250 parent responses in the Al Ain region of Abu Dhabi Emirate were used to understand the mean variation in perception of five built environment constructs. Further, multinomial logit regression was used to assess the health condition using the perception, behavior, and built environment measures. Results indicate that Emirati males perceive the built environment factors as barriers more than female adolescents. Parents perceive street crossing (p < 0.016) and sidewalk characteristics (p < 0.020) to be more of a hindrance. Traffic exposure, self-reported physical activity, and walkability near homes and schools significantly affect Emirati adolescents’ health conditions. Recommendations are made for various stakeholders including parents, school authorities, Abu Dhabi Municipality and Transportation, and the Urban Planning department on ways to enhance the built environment and encourage PA and well-being of Emirati adolescents.

The role of facilities management in green retrofit of existing buildings in the United Arab Emirates

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Mawed ◽  
Vinay Tilani ◽  
Karima Hamani
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
Actual Case ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Green retrofitting is acknowledged as an essential strategy toward achieving long-term sustainability in the built environment. To implement this strategy successfully, the role of facility managers cannot be ignored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate present practices that are used in managing the existing facilities, to highlight the elements that govern the process of green retrofitting, and discuss the efforts and contribution of facility managers in enhancing the environmental performance of the existing facilities stock in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach This study suggests that an adequate level of awareness of the benefits of green retrofit amongst owners and decision-makers is mostly dependent on facilities management (FM) professionals, who must establish effective communication channel with senior management. FM professionals in the UAE are well equipped and competent in greening existing buildings and can simultaneously lead a building to the path of achieving green building certification. Findings To examine the role of FM in a green retrofit and its current status in the UAE built environment, a two-step qualitative method was adopted. The study started by conducting semi-structured interviews with FM professionals and then assessing the insights obtained from the interviews against an actual case study of a LEED Existing Building certified facility. Research limitations/implications Interviews were limited to FM professionals in the private sector and the results from one case study should be considered cautiously. Originality/value This paper emphasizes the primordial role of FM professionals in promoting green retrofit in the UAE.

The “Personality Cult” Problematic: Personalism and Mosques Memorializing the “Father of the Nation” in Turkmenistan and the uae

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 330-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Koch
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Landscape Analysis ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
Personality Cult ◽  
Cult Of Personality ◽  
The Masses

This article analyzes the role of mosques dedicated to the “father of the nation” under two personalistic authoritarian systems: Saparmurat Niyazov in Turkmenistan and Sheikh Zayed in the United Arab Emirates (uae). Critiquing “cult of personality” narratives as Orientalist and analytically weak, I emphasize the constructed nature of charisma, asking how such personalistic regimes produce the image of a coherent figurehead—and to what end. As a discursive device, the personalistic leader-as-icon appears in a range of authoritarian regimes, and it is materially inscribed in the symbolic landscapes to create the impression of unity among elites and the masses. To illustrate how this works, I draw on research in Turkmenistan and the uae from 2012 through 2014, including landscape analysis of two mosques memorializing the countries’ founding fathers: the Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque in the outskirts of Ashgabat, and the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, in the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

scholarly journals Assessing Neighborhood Satisfaction and Social Capital in a Multi-Cultural Setting of an Abu Dhabi Neighborhood

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anfal Al-Ali ◽  
Praveen Maghelal ◽  
Khaled Alawadi
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Neighborhood Satisfaction ◽  
Residential Neighborhood

Behavioral research studies propose that urban open spaces contribute to enhance sociability in urban areas. The urban areas in the city of Abu Dhabi are less appealing to attract vibrant activity and social life. This study investigates the role of the built environment in the enhancement of neighborhood satisfaction and social capital in a residential neighborhood of Abu Dhabi. A total of 145 residents were surveyed for their perception, attitude, and behavior. Regression analyses to predict the role of the built environment of the open space, as well as the ethnicity of respondents, on measures of neighborhood satisfaction and social capital were performed. Spatial data and audit tools were used to assess the lack of suitable built-environment in the study area. Results indicate that improvements to the built environment can improve both the social capital and neighborhood satisfaction of the urban residents of Abu Dhabi. Implications of this study include recommendations to enhance the experience of urban spaces in arid regions like Abu Dhabi. Recommendations include adding landscape elements, providing a comfortable walking environment, adding attractive locations and destinations, and a clean and safe environment with attractive buildings or homes.

Motor Vehicle-Pedestrian Collisions and Walking to School: The Role of the Built Environment

PEDIATRICS ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 776-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Rothman ◽  
C. Macarthur ◽  
T. To ◽  
R. Buliung ◽  
A. Howard
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Walking To School ◽  
Pedestrian Collisions

scholarly journals Branding, legitimation and the power of museums: The case of the Louvre Abu Dhabi

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Btihaj Ajana
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Excellent Opportunity ◽  
Cultural Field ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cultural Developments

Museums and cultural developments are on the rise in the Gulf region. The United Arab Emirates is home to some of the most ambitious and extravagant museum projects in the world. In this article, I consider the example of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, exploring some of its underlying dynamics and context. I focus mainly on the relationship between branding and legitimation while placing my analysis within a wider critical debate, which includes discussions on the link between museums and identity, the legitimizing role of architecture, and the various contentious concerns and controversies surrounding the Louvre Abu Dhabi project. I conclude that the United Arab Emirates and other neighbouring countries have an excellent opportunity for innovation in the cultural field if they are willing to critically and ethically found their cultural developments on an ethos of inclusivity, openness, experimentation, non-exploitation and curatorial courage.

scholarly journals Understanding the Role of Standards in the Negotiation of a Healthy Built Environment

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 9884
Author(s):  
Rosalie Callway ◽  
Helen Pineo ◽  
Gemma Moore
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
International Standards ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Environment Design ◽  
Technical Literature ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Collective Negotiation ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Standard Documents

A growing number of international standards promote Healthy Built Environment (HBE) principles which aim to enhance occupant and user health and wellbeing. Few studies examine the implementation of these standards; whether and how they affect health through changes to built-environment design, construction, and operations. This study reviews a set of sustainability and HBE standards, based on a qualitative analysis of standard documents, standard and socio-technical literature on normalization and negotiation, and interviews with 31 practitioners from four geographical regions. The analysis indicates that standards can impact individual, organizational, and market-scale definitions of an HBE. Some changes to practice are identified, such as procurement and internal layout decisions. There is more limited evidence of changes to dominant, short-term decision-making practices related to cost control and user engagement in operational decisions. HBE standards risk establishing narrow definitions of health and wellbeing focused on building occupants rather than promoting broader, contextually situated, principles of equity, inclusion, and ecosystem functioning crucial for health. There is a need to improve sustainability and HBE standards to take better account of local contexts and promote systems thinking. Further examination of dominant collective negotiation processes is required to identify opportunities to better embed standards within organizational practice.

ICT in the UAE Educational Setting

2013 ◽  
pp. 52-62
Author(s):  
Ahmed Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Abu Dhabi Emirate ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
Authentic Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Shed Light

This chapter is meant to investigate the current educational situation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to: a) discuss the impact of technology integration and the precise roles ICT plays in fostering learning, b) explore the most various problems and challenges teachers face in implementing ICT in teaching, and c) shed light on the role of educational leaders in enhancing teaching and learning through integrating ICT. This research-based chapter tackles the above-mentioned issues relying on the previous studies in the same field (literature review) and conducting a qualitative and a quantitative study- using surveys and interviews-to gather authentic data to assess the current situation of ICT in Abu Dhabi Emirate.

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