The selection of a suitable place for an activity is an important decision made for a project, which requires assessing it from different points of view. Educational use is one of the most complicated and substantial uses in urban space that requires precise and logical attention to its location and neighborhood with similar and consistent uses. Faculties of universities are educational spaces that should be protected against physical and moral damage to create a healthy educational environment. To do this, it is necessary to find and assess the factors affecting the location of educational spaces. The extant study aimed at finding and assessing the factors affecting the location of educational spaces to locate art and architecture schools or faculties in 4 important universities. The present study is applied developmental research in terms of nature and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. This study used the AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) weighing and controlled the prioritization through the TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity) technique in the methodology phase. Since there was no criterion and metric for these centers, six were chosen as the primary metrics after reviewing the relevant theoretical foundations, early investigations, and collecting effective data. Finally, the results indicated the most important factors of vehicular or roadway access, pedestrian access, slope, parking, adjacency, neighborhood, and area. Among the mentioned factors, pedestrian access (w: 0.4231) had the highest weight and was the priority in the location of architecture faculty in studied campuses and areas inside the universities.
This study aimed to examine and assess the impact of the logistics industry’s environment, entry-level graduates’ characteristics and the logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) program design on the transformation of knowledge and skills at Sohar port in the Sultanate of Oman. The study employed a pragmatic research philosophy involving a structured questionnaire. The sample size included 49 mid-managers from the logistics industry who were working at Sohar Port. The study found that entry-level graduates’ characteristics and LSCM program design positively and significantly influenced the transformation of knowledge and skills. However, the organisational environment had a negative and insignificant impact on the transformation. This study revealed several dimensions that may require further research. It is pertinent to broaden the research scope to other towns, ports, and other countries in the Gulf Council Countries (GCC) to broaden the scope and generalisability of the results. According to the study findings, several recommendations are proposed for the logistics and supply chain sector in Oman to enhance the transformation of knowledge and skills by entry-level graduates, as well as for higher education institutions (HEIs). To meet the sector requirements, HEIs may improve the current university-industry collaborations by increasing the inputs of the industry in designing and developing the LSCM program. The organisational environment must reconsider the knowledge and skills transformation by entry-level graduates in their strategic plan of resources management, which must be emphasised by the remuneration system and career paths incentive. While other studies have explored knowledge and skill transformation in the context of employee training, this study aims to fill a specific research gap by focusing on the transformation of knowledge and skills by entry-level graduates, an area which has not been extensively studied before. Furthermore, this study is unique as it examines the impact of the industry’s environment, entry-level graduates’ characteristics and the LSCM program on the transformation of knowledge and skills within the unique context of Oman. This novel approach provides an opportunity to understand the specific challenges and opportunities faced by entry-level graduates in Oman and suggests strategies for addressing them.
This study looked at how adding augmented reality (AR) to Jordanian fast-food apps during the pandemic impacts brand identity, consumer views, and interactions. It wanted to see if AR strengthens brand connections or leads to brand dilution concerns in the industry. The research utilized a qualitative approach, employing semi-structured interviews with 52 marketing managers from diverse fast-food establishments across Jordan. The study highlighted how mobile apps, especially AR, changed brand interactions in Jordan’s fast-food market. They boosted convenience and engagement but raised worries about food quality and brand dilution due to heavy app use. It stressed the need to balance tech innovation, preserve brand identity, offer personalized experiences, understand user behavior, and tackle app development challenges for better brand loyalty. The research offers practical implications for stakeholders, recommending strategic AR integration, a user-centric approach, cultural sensitivity in tech adoption, and the preservation of emotional connections. It emphasizes the significance of maintaining a delicate balance between leveraging technological advancements and safeguarding the distinctiveness of individual brand identities within an increasingly app-centric landscape. This study uncovers AR’s influence in Jordan’s fast-food scene, highlighting its transformative power and possible drawbacks. It offers practical advice for industry players, guiding them on how to navigate the digital shift without compromising brand integrity or customer connections.
Improving the practical skills of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students at a historically black college and university (HBCU) was done by implementing a transformative teaching model. The model was implemented on undergraduate students of different educational levels in the Electrical Engineering (EE) Department at HBCU. The model was also extended to carefully chosen high and middle schools. These middle and high school students serve as a pipeline to the university, with a particular emphasis on fostering growth within the EE Department. The model aligns well with the core mission of the EE Department, aiming to enhance the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of students, ensuring that they are qualified to work in industry or to pursue graduate studies. The implemented model prepares students for outstanding STEM careers. It also increases enrolment, student retention, and the number of underrepresented minority graduates in a technology-based workforce.
Since 2019, major travel destinations worldwide have issued travel-related restrictions against COVID-19. There is much research on tourism, but few studies have been conducted to explain the relevance of revisiting intention from the perspective of the epidemic or the dramaturgical theory. The purpose of the research is to explore the impact of customer experience on revisit intention during the period of COVID-19 slowdown by using dramaturgical theory. This study used a survey methodology, and the questionnaire was distributed on an online questionnaire platform. The URL of the questionnaire was published on social media (such as Facebook and LINE) to collect data from 389 samples of people who have foreign travel experience. The data was analyzed by employing partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) methodology with the help of the statistical software “SmartPLS”. The research findings are as follows: 1) setting, audience, and performance are the three important elements of dramaturgical theory that impact the experience quality; 2) customer experience of tourists has a significant impact on the experience quality; 3) experience quality has a significant positive impact on the experience value and relationship quality; 4) experience value and relationship quality are important predictors of revisit intention. This study provides academic implications regarding the use of dramaturgical theory in relation to customer experience and relationship constructs in the context of tourism. Furthermore, it also provides some practical implications to tourism practitioners and managers, which would assist tourism industries in developing successful marketing strategies for the possible recovery of COVID-19.
Copyright © by EnPress Publisher. All rights reserved.