The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences

1-9

Authors: J. T. Oladeji; A. O. Alade; S. A. Popoola; A. D. Ogunsola

The challenge to find and develop alternative sources of energy so that our decreasing reserves of crude oil and other fossil fuels may be conserved is of concern. However, this energy source must not interfere nor compete with human means of survival. The brewery industries generate a large amount of waste with a spent grain (SG) being the major one, which is currently under-utilized and usually disposed off indiscriminately. This has raised environmental concern. However, spent grain is a rich source of lignocellulose, which can be converted through hydrolysis and fermentation to bio-ethanol and this can be used as pure or blended fuel for automobile and heating purposes. The aim of this article is to review the composition, applications and other uses of brewer’s spent grain (SG). The full utilization of existing technology and the promise of new development were also examined in this review. Also reviewed were works of few researchers who had worked on brewer’s spent grain. This study concluded that spent grain though a waste product can be used to generate energy in form of ethanol production and that the quantity of ethanol that can be produced from spent grains depends on the quantity of reducing sugar and residual starch content. The higher the reducing sugar and residual starch content the higher the quantity of ethanol that can be extracted. Thus, spent grain is a potential biomass for the production of bio-fuel particularly in developing nations.

15-30

Authors: Muhammad Shahid; Muhammad Nadeem; Usman Mehmood

The idea that consumers differ in the amount and type of effort they put into shopping is not new to marketing. Consumer Involvement is a need-based motivational attitude toward information systems and their development. The Means-Ends Chain (MEC) approach is used to identify the consequences and values that consumers attach to product attributes. Attributes differentiate competing products from each other in the mind of the consumers. Consumers’ involvement with purchasing influences their purchase behavior and that different consumer types (market segments) can be identified on the basis of their involvement. Purchasing involvement is a promising variable in marketing for three reasons. First, it may be combined with products and situation involvement to better explain buying behavior. Second, it is possible that purchasing involvement may be significantly related to personality variables. Third, and perhaps of most immediate practical significance, purchasing involvement may be related to a number of purchasing activities which are not product specific and significantly impact marketing strategy.

39-46

Authors: Briliya Rajabel Devadas

Purposes: The purpose of this paper is to reveal interview findings from an empirical study, conducted with a nursing education leader currently working in the UAE, to remedy the paucity of literature, related to leadership issues in nursing education in the country; and to synthesize all relevant literature review material into proposing a culturally suitable model for nursing education leadership in the UAE. Design: A review of the literature on authentic transformative leadership was conducted and select successful leadership attributes have been discussed. A hermeneutic, phenomenological, semi-structured interview with a nursing leader in the field of nursing education currently working in the UAE was also conducted. Findings: Emerging themes reflected global patterns such as the presence of a hierarchical leadership model, lack of communication, poor teaching resources and low student numbers. Successful attributes that can help cope with the challenges include-taking care of self, building the trust economy, perseverance, maintaining strong professional networks and cultivating relationships among faculty members. The Excellence in Nursing Education Model by the National League for Nursing has been adapted for the proposed conceptual model for successful nursing education in the UAE.

50-57

Authors: Ahtisham Younas

Introduction: High-stress levels can directly or indirectly impede academic learning, performance, and health of the nursing students. There is ample literature reporting levels of stress and coping strategies used by the nursing students from within western world. However, this may not be applicable to Asian context. Therefore, there is a need to synthesize evidence regarding stress and coping of nursing students from Asia. Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to critically review and appraise existing studies and identify data gaps regarding stress and coping strategies among nursing students in the Asian context. Methods: Literature search was performed using keywords and different combinations of keywords such as “level of stress, stressors, coping strategies, nursing students, interns, undergraduate nurses” from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINHAL, ASSIA, PsycInfo, Science Direct, and Google Scholar and other sources such as research gate, websites, reference lists, and Higher Education Commission of Pakistan’s Electronic Library. The search limit was focused on Asian countries and limited studies were found in this area. The review included nine studies published between 2007 and 2014 from India, Pakistan, Iran, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Jordan. Results: The critical appraisal of the studies was done in terms of study population, purpose, methodology, and ethical considerations. The key findings of the studies were described under four themes; levels of stress, common stressors, coping strategies, and association among stress, coping, and the demographic variables. Most of the studies reported that the nursing students experience moderate stress levels. In terms of coping, students used more positive coping strategies than negative strategies. Conclusion: This review underlined the strength and limitations of the studies identifying the levels of stress and coping strategies of nursing students in Asian context. A number of methodological limitations were found in these studies indicating that this topic has not been adequately investigated. Therefore, further research is needed to expand the literature in this area.