SACM - Australia
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://drepo.sdl.edu.sa/handle/20.500.14154/9648
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Item Restricted Examining Academics and Students Attitudes to Mobile-learning in a Transformative University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a study of Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University(Saudi Digital Library, 0023-10-27) Alshehri, Eman; Preston, Greg; Buchanan, RachelAlthough there is a growing interest in mobile-learning and its potential benefits in higher education, limited research has investigated cross-contextual mobile-learning issues such as university technology policies, usage levels, and practices in relation to students' gender, contextual, educational, and gender-based mobile-learning attitudes. This study was undertaken as a case study at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU), to investigate the attitudes of both academic staff and students towards the adoption of mobile-learning with Smartphones. The first purpose of this study was to explore the current Smartphone policies, level of usage, preferred learning activities by students and academics at IAU. The second purpose of the study was to investigate the student’s and academics’ attitudes and perceptions toward using their Smartphones as learning and teaching tools, with particular regard to the challenges and/or enablers that they may encounter. This study used an adapted version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and a sequential mixed methods design to collect the data using online surveys with students (N=325), and semi-structured interviews with academics (N=21). Regression analysis was used to analyse the online surveys (quantitative data), and a thematic analysis was used to analyse the semi-structured interviews (qualitative data). The study findings revealed that both students and academics generally have a positive attitude toward the use of Smartphones in the learning environment at IAU. Around 98% of students at IAU use Smartphones every day for learning, while the use by the academics was substantially less. From the nine measured variables, only four predictors had a significant influence on students’ attitudes to mobile-learning: self-efficacy, enjoyment, perceived ease of use, and mobile-learning preferences. For academics, the most frequently reported challenge they faced when adopting mobile-learning was the lack of policies and regulations governing their use. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on mobile-learning in higher education and offers useful insights into how Smartphones are currently used by students and academics at IAU and the best practices for implementing Smartphones as learning and teaching tools.61 0Item Restricted Bacterial Risk Assessment of Cereals and Cereal Products in Saudi Arabia(Saudi Digital Library, 2017) Banah, Osama; Davies, BelindaFood is considered an essential element and core requirement for life. However, if contaminated by microbiological, physical or chemical agents, food can cause death or disease among those who consume it. For this reason, ensuring the safety of the food we eat is a crucial requirement in reducing the incidence of foodborne disease outbreaks. This can be expected to impact positively on the general health of the public in countries where such measures are adopted and enforced. This study aimed to identify and rank the microbiological hazards associated with foods commonly consumed in Saudi Arabia. We identified cereals and their products as the country’s most consumed food type, and a microbial risk assessment was conducted based on a version of the CODEX risk assessment framework developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization. The completed risk assessment identified cooked rice and cooked pasta as the highest-risk foods within the cereals and cereal products category. In addition, the bacteria identified as associated with these two types of food were also ranked according to their hazard level. Bacillus cereus was considered the highest risk, followed by Salmonella spp. (non-typhoidal) and then Staphylococcus aureus. The research also confirmed the importance of food safety skills and knowledge and the role of proper food handling techniques in preventing and reducing the likelihood of foodborne outbreaks.35 0