Hussin J. Hejase

Colorectal Cancer : Exploring Awareness in Lebanon

Background: In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified Colorectal Cancer (CRC) as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths (694,000 deaths) after lung (1.59 million deaths), liver (745,000 deaths) and stomach (723,000 deaths) cancers. Thus, CRC awareness is needed in order to promote CRC screening which is widely recommended but remains underused, especially among poor populations. Objective: The study assessed the current understanding of CRC among the Lebanese population in order to propose recommendations that may contribute to increasing the screening rates where it is widely known that the survival rate increases significantly with early interventions. Materials and Methods: The study surveyed 1140 participants that were approached in public places, universities, entrances of the hospitals or places of work as well as following a snowball tactic by giving some potential participants few surveys to complete within their own social circles. The survey included questions related to risk factors, symptoms, and methods of screening. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 23.0 software. Results: The results of this study underline the lack of knowledge on CRC where the percentage of respondents that has never heard about it exceeds 59%; likewise, the study underlines the lack of knowledge on CRC screening where the percentage of respondents that have heard about it while claiming that they are familiar with CRC does not exceed 57.17%. Similarly, the results revealed poor knowledge in what relates to CRC risk factors and symptoms. Conclusions: Lack of awareness on CRC and its common risks and symptoms terminology is a barrier to CRC screening; accordingly, effective awareness campaigns are needed to highlight these issues. To cite this article [Nemer, H. A., Hejase, A. J., Hejase H. J., Othman, M., Chawraba, M., & Trad, M. A. (2016). Colorectal Cancer: Exploring Awareness in Lebanon. The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 2(10), 10-21]. (P-ISSN 24129763) (e-ISSN 2412-8937). www.jomenas.org. 3

Cyber Warfare Awareness in Lebanon: Exploratory Research

Many believe that the coming war is a cyberwar that revolves around cyber weapons; to many others, the world is already at the core of this war. Names like Stuxnet, Duqu, Gauss and Flame have become familiar, malware projects known to experts in the field of cyber weapons. One asks: what type of awareness and preparation students need to deal with the cyber warfare challenges and threats? Countries have prepared for the aforementioned challenges and threats, while Lebanon is not. This research investigates current status of cyber warfare awareness and clarifies what changes may be incorporated into the Lebanese sectors, including the educational one. This study is exploratory and uses a survey distributed to 635 students, educators and managers. Findings reveal that in Lebanon, the educated community not only lacks awareness but also knowledge of what is happening in the arenas of cyber warfare, cyber weapons and cyber security.

Hospitality Management Curriculum and Potential Market Competencies: An Assessment of the Compatibility of AUST Graduates with that of the Lebanese Hospitality Job Market

Background: The recurring dilemma encountered by the academic programs in the Hospitality Management field is how applicable these programs are to the realities of the job market. That is, matching academic preparation to desired competencies sought by the market. This paper provides a positive insight into the elements that have led to the success of the curriculum of the Hospitality Management Department at the American University of Science and Technology (AUST) in Lebanon. It is a unique case which offers lessons to be learned, and which are applicable on a larger scale. Aims: This paper presents a brief description of the travel and tourism sector in Lebanon, and the requirements necessary in the development of adequate human resources to cover the market’s needs. The paper provides necessary facts to assess the potentiality of the university’s graduates and what the Faculty of Business and Economics of AUST can offer to create a value-added workforce. Original Research Article Hejase et al.; JSRR, Article no. JSRR.2014.9.01

Solving Polynomial Inequalities with GeoGebra : Opportunities of Visualization and Multiple Representations

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the ways students’ instrumentation of Computer Algebra System (CAS) can help promote their algebraic reasoning while solving polynomial inequalities. In addition, the relation between students’ CAS techniques and paper-and-pencil (P&P) techniques are explored, together with the difficulties that students may face as they apply these techniques. Research participants are 33 tenth graders at a private mixed gender school in Mount-Lebanon, distributed among nine homogenous groups, five of which are selected as focus groups. The study is qualitative in nature. Data is collected from pretests, students’ written solutions of four instructional activities, laptop screen recordings, video recordings of whole-class discussions, and audio recorded interviews with students in the focus groups. The findings of the study show that students’ lack of prerequisite knowledge of the topic of functions and their low level of familiarity with GeoGebra software are determinant factors that hinder these students’ instrumentation of CAS and hence their reasoning processes as well as their implementation of the solving techniques. High and middle-achieving students’ solving techniques acquired little epistemic and some pragmatic values, whereas low achieving students’ solving techniques acquired heuristic values. To cite this article [Tarraf, H. A., Hejase, A. J., & Hejase, H. J. (2018). Solving Polynomial Inequalities with GeoGebra: Opportunities of Visualization and Multiple Representations. The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 4(01), 01-22]. (P-ISSN 24129763) (e-ISSN 2412-8937). www.jomenas.org. 1

Students’ Evaluation of the Teaching Process at Lebanese Universities : An Assessment of the Faculty’s Perceptions

Lebanon, like other countries, has a special interest in conserving the integrity, quality, and fairness of its higher education, especially that it serves approximately 200,000 students registered in the scholastic year 2017-2018; these students injected millions of dollars into the private institutions. Students are seen as customers whose satisfaction and comfort jump to the front and prevail as the main doctrine that governs the educational process. The student-as-customer concept is a fundamental factor that plays a major role in educational institutions, even the traditional non-profit ones that basically depend on tuition fees incurred by the number of enrolled students in order to cover their inflated budgets; hence, the need to have satisfied stakeholder —students. This orientation has made the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) a key criterion to evaluate the teaching process; especially since SET is currently used to assess and improve teaching and learning processes. Faculty members who are considered by the students, non-lenient, serious, strict, and highly demanding are put under pressure, if not penalized, irrespective if it is fair or not, hence leading to the former being frustrated. This research provides an insight into the frustration state of the faculty members at certain Lebanese universities due to the importance which is given to SET and its effects on the educational procedure and their careers per se. This research is exploratory and quantitative using a survey questionnaire distributed to 146 faculty members. Data is analyzed using SPSS software. Findings reveal that the majority of the said faculty members have a negative view of the SET evaluation process in terms of format, and the content of the corresponding questionnaires; results are seen as being ineffective and inappropriate means of evaluation. The SET evaluation process is complicated and the assessment survey differs from one university to another. Outcomes of this paper serve policymakers at the higher education institutions when setting the institution’s mission and vision and purpose; it may direct the continuous efforts to create agreed upon teaching and learning quality standards. To cite this article [Hejase, A. J., Hejase, H. J., Tarhini, A. M., & Younis, J. (2018). Students’ Evaluation of the Teaching Process at Lebanese Universities: An Assessment of the Faculty’s Perceptions. The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 4(7), 1132]. (P-ISSN 24129763) (e-ISSN 2412-8937). www.jomenas.org. 3

Effect of Education and Emotional Intelligence on Consumers Impulsive Buying Behavior

Today, marketing has become highly competitive across the industry, and understanding consumers’ behavior has become a challenging task for the marketers. In strategic marketing planning, consumer behavior is an integral part of said process as the consumer plays the role of the user, the buyer and the payer. The behavior of the consumers changes as the factors that affect the consumer’s behavior change. The goal of this research is to examine the effect of education on consumers’ impulsive buying behavior. Data is collected using a 30-question questionnaire to test the respondents’ impulsive buying behavior, their attitude to impulsive buying, and their education level and Emotional Intelligence. The sample size is 200, of which 184 are valid. Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) is used to analyze the acquired data to discern the correlation between the level of education and impulsive buying behavior.

Trauma Awareness and Education in Lebanon : An Exploratory Study

Trauma is considered nowadays a leading cause of death worldwide. It is a known fact that tens of millions of people are injured or disabled every year; children, pedestrians, cyclists and the elderly are among the most vulnerable of road users. However, research supports the fact that a better management of ‘Trauma’ patients leads to an increase in the survival rates and a decrease in morbidity and mortality. In an effort to lessen the burden of death and disability from injury, a spectrum of activities needs to be considered, ranging from surveillance and basic research to prevention programs, to ‘Trauma’ management, among which prevention is the most prominent and vital. Furthermore, efforts are exerted to encourage the preventability of road traffic injuries and promote good practices related to helmet and seatbelt wearing, no drinking while driving, no speeding, and being visible in traffic. This paper elaborates on the importance of the primary care of the injured patients and more importantly, awareness and appropriate training of the health care providers. The purpose of this research is to assess the Lebanese healthcare providers’ knowledge and opinion on ‘Trauma’ education and training towards increasing the awareness of ‘Trauma’ care in Lebanon, improving the education of the health care providers and standardizing the management of ‘Trauma’ patients. A quantitative exploratory research is used utilizing a survey questionnaire as a basis for quantitative analysis using descriptive statistics and causal regression techniques. Research outcomes are to be used as a foundation for recommendations to the Lebanese public sector as well as to the private healthcare institutions so as to promote them to introduce better policies into ‘Trauma’ management principles, and guidelines for more effective practices. To cite this article [Hejase, H. J., El Skaff, D. Hamdar, B. & Hejase, A. J. (2017). Trauma Awareness and Education in Lebanon: An Exploratory Study. The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 3(10), 8-31]. (P-ISSN 24129763) (e-ISSN 2412-8937). www.jomenas.org. 2

Decision Making under Stress : An Exploratory Study in Lebanon

Nowadays, balancing work and family is getting more demanding, finding time for oneself is difficult, and the demands of work are overwhelming; life is becoming more stressful. Stress has become one of the factors that decisionmakers must contend with in most life-or-death situations. In business, stress can be detrimental to the success of managers when making key decisions. This paper presents an exploratory study on the effect of stress on decision makers. It focuses on the impact of stress throughout the decision-making process and not only at the time of decision. It also highlights the importance of mitigating stress in order to reach an effective decision. The impact of stress is studied from two perspectives, one of the decision makers themselves and another of their subordinates. The findings of the research give a holistic view on stress and its impact on decision makers, and an insight into business stress mitigation strategies. The research adopts a quantitative approach where data is gathered from different conveniently selected employees, through survey questionnaires that are used to gather insight into the employees’ perception of managers’ performance under stress. Detailed results of the survey questionnaires are stated and are analyzed using the software SPSS for quantitative data. This research suggests that a better understanding of the interplay between stress and an individuals judgment and decision-making activities may yield a better understanding of how people reach the choices they make under stress. To cite this article [Hejase, H. J., Hamdar, B., Hashem, F., & Bou Sleiman, R. (2017). Decision Making Under Stress: An Exploratory Study in Lebanon. The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 3(12), 1-16]. (P-ISSN 24129763) (e-ISSN 24128937). www.jomenas.org. 1

Corporate Social Responsibility Impact on Consumer Decision

Background: The current fierce market environment obliges corporations to strive for success with every business strategy or tool to secure sustainability in the market. One approach that companies use is to operate and at the same time contribute to the well-being of the surrounding community, to safeguard the natural environment under which they operate, and to enhance the work force opportunities for growth. Such an approach has developed with time and is known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR strategy is one of the roadmaps that corporations may use, including the possible activities corporations’ implementation, which may impact consumers’ choice and decisions to deal with the said corporations. Nowadays, in Lebanon, the use of CSR strategy is moderately on the rise. Objective: The current research aims to assess the extent that CSR strategy really affects consumers’ decision making, and to determine which one of the CSR activities or tools involving social, economic, or environmental dimensions carries the highest impact on changing consumers’ decision. Furthermore, this research will shed light on the Lebanese consumers’ perception and attitude towards CSR, and to assess which applied activities/tools carries the highest impact on their decision-making process to buy a product or a service. Materials and Methods: This research is exploratory, comparative and quantitative in nature, and uses a survey questionnaire distributed to 200 Lebanese consumers selected conveniently to study their perception of CSR strategy, and to identify which CSR tool they perceive as to be more effective in affecting their decision to buy a specific