Blended learning combines multiple delivery media that are designed to complement each other and promote learning and application-learned behavior (Smith & Dillon, 1999). This article reports on a study conducted in the College of Information Technology to evaluate levels of student' satisfaction with blended learning. The particular blend of learning modalities used at the college combines an equal balance of traditional face-to-face and videoconference learning, complemented with the use of a learning management system (Moodle). Recently, discussions of blended learning have begun to examine the benefits derived from learning situations characterized by face-to-face education and mixed modalities of instruction. Regardless of comparisons made by researchers and developers, those studying blended learning have agreed that student satisfaction is a baseline requirement for successful implementation. Student satisfaction is considered an important factor in measuring the quality of blended learning. It results from a combination of factors. In this study a model is proposed by the aggregation of these factors into five groups: instructor, technology, class management, interaction, and instruction. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate an instrument that can be used to measure perceived student satisfaction with blended learning and explore whether satisfaction differs according to gender. The results indicate that the Student Satisfaction Survey Forms (SSSF) used were a valid measure of student satisfaction. They also show that students were satisfied with all components, although the level of satisfaction varied according to gender.

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Aims:To investigate the main causes and consequences of road traffic injuries (RTIs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the effect of traffic fines on these injuries. Methods:This cross-sectional study analysed road traffic deaths and injuries and panel data of monthly traffic accident fines from 2012 to 2016 in the UAE. A fixed-effects (FE) model was used to determine the factors associated with RTIs over time. The FE model removes the effect of time-invariant aspects from the independent variables, thus assessing the net impact of the independent variables on the outcome variable. The independent variables were dangerous driving behaviors defined as a sudden turn, neglect and lack of attention, and excess speed. The outcome variables were the total number of road traffic deaths and injuries.Results: Road traffic deaths, severe injuries, and moderate injuries remained constant from 2012 to 2016 but mild injuries decreased starting 2013. Human errors such as a sudden turn (22%), excess speed (12%) and lack of road user appreciation (12%) play a central role in road traffic injuries. The number of fines issued to drivers (66% for speeding) increased by 50% in the five year period. Conclusion:Road traffic injuries in the UAE remained stable from 2012 to 2016 despite an increase in traffic fines issued to drivers. Human errors continue to be a major cause of these injuries. Additional enforcement strategies are needed to address this health burden.

PurposeAt this juncture, one needs to analyze the problem statement and the purpose of this article. It is an undeniable fact that the schools are no longer classroom-oriented teaching but demands a higher level of teaching that will help students enhance their maximum potential. Having instructional based knowledge, knowledge of policies both in national and regional level and implementing them on time is not adequate for their success. Research in this area has prompted academicians to delve further into factors that can convert a manager to an instructional leader with the ability to provide a synthesis of responsibilities, which might help in positively impacting the learning outcome of the students (Wendorf-Heldt, 2009). School principals have moved into a different paradigm, and no longer being a good manager is sufficient to run a school. Academicians have been engaged to study the subject from various dimensions, and yet there remains a certain amount of uncertainty about the qualities of being an effective leader in a school (Greenockle, 2010). Question arises that what are the most effective qualities that a school principal must possess – is it the ability to motivate, inspire or communicate the vision and mission of the school? Stakeholders have changed too, they are now more direct, more outspoken and more demanding than ever before and these critical elements have to be understood well by the principal who is connected to a larger community of people (Greenockle, 2010). It is therefore, becoming imperative that the importance of emotional intelligence (EI) is understood by the educational policymakers who need to advocate adequate training and understanding of school principals in directing the advancement of their EI. Increasing understanding and the importance of EI of school leaders and its relation to their years of experience and school impact thus become a significant area to study, mainly in the context of UAE.Design/methodology/approachResearch design is described as the study framework, which helps researchers to follow procedures during the process of collecting, analyzing and reporting data (Creswell, 2012). Since the main objective of the study was to assess whether a correlation exists between the EI of school principals and the school environment as perceived by teachers, the study is categorized under a quantitative correlational design. This study design focuses mainly on collecting numerical data and determining the relationship between two quantifiable variables (McBurney and White, 2009). It is worth mentioning that there are two types of variables called “independent” and “dependent’ variables. Johnson and Christensen (2008) differentiated between these two types of variables by defining an “independent’ variable as “a variable that is presumed to cause a change in another variable”, while a “dependent” variable is “a variable that is presumed to be influenced by one or more independent variables” (p. 39). Based on these definitions, it can be said that the EI of school principals is the independent variable, while the dependent variable is the school environment.FindingsThe levels of emotional intelligence of school principals in UAE public schools. The first objective of the study is to identify the EI levels of school principals. The results show that the EI scores of principals range from 32.53 (consider development) to 100.15 (high average score) with a mean of 67.21 (consider development). As shown in Figure 1, 55 % of principals score in the “Consider Development” range, 40 % are in the “Consider Improvement” category, and only 5 % are in the “High Average Score” range. Interestingly, no principals score in the “Low Average Score”, “Competent”, “Strength” and “Significant Strength” range. The mean of EI (67.21) is categorized under the “Consider Development” range which means that the level of EI of principals is low. In other words, principals are unable to recognize and express emotions, use emotions to assist problem solving, understand the emotions of others, or manage and control their own emotions. As explained in the MSCEIT user manual, scoring low in the MSCEIT indicates that those principals have a shortfall in their EI abilities which indeed may have a negative impact on the workplace and hold principals back from performing their roles effectively (Mayer et al., 2002). This has been supported by the literature as West-Burnham (2002) stated that those with low levels of EI might not become effective leaders as they are unable to interact effectively with others, enhance effective collaboration, or create a positive school climate that promotes effective learning. This is a key finding which needs to be addressed by the MoE policymakers to improve principals’ low levels of EI.Research limitations/implicationsIn this study, the researcher applied the quantitative research method in which the MSCEIT framework was used to measure principals’ EI levels and the R-SLEQ to measure the SC as perceived by teachers. However, relying only on quantitative assessment tools may not be enough to describe the levels of EI of the principals. Therefore, it is recommended that future research endeavors to incorporate qualitative research methods such as interviews and observations to elaborate more on the EI levels of principals and get a broader picture of the principal state. Using both quantitative and qualitative assessment tools, according to Creswell (2012), would ensure the accuracy and credibility of the study, increase trustworthiness, enhance the verification process and get a deeper understanding of the topic. Another limitation in this research is related to the sample size. In this study, the sample included twenty school principals and ten teachers working with each principal from the RAK education zone. This was due to the restricted number of schools that were available to study in RAK and the difficulty of accessing schools outside RAK. For future research, it is recommended that researchers use a larger sample size from different emirates as this would increase the accuracy and reliability of the research, help to generalize the research findings on a large scale, lend support to the findings of this study and nurture the existing research on the relationship between EI and leadership effectiveness.Practical implicationsThe practical implications include EI skills in the principals’ recruitment process. The recruitment system of school principals is a pivotal process that puts in place the most qualified and skilled principals who strongly fit the needs of the Ministry of Education (MoE). Currently, the recruitment system of school principals in the UAE relies on academic qualifications as candidates for school principalship are required to hold a bachelor’s degree in education, however, there is no test that measures their EI skills. According to Serrat (2017), qualifications alone cannot indicate principals’ effectiveness as some of them may have high academic ratings yet are lacking social and interpersonal skills. For this reason, it is recommended that MoE policymakers add the skills of EI to the recruit system of school principals and include these skills in the licensing project which has been recently launched to develop principals' abilities and skills. Such abilities and skills, as argued by Lunenburg and Ornstein (2004), can determine leaders’ effectiveness. This is evident as this study proves that highly emotionally intelligent principals do have a positive impact on the school environment, and with the current emphasis of the MoE on leading change, EI should become more critical.Social implicationsProvision of professional development for school principals. Principals, as argued by Cook (2006) are change agents who hold the main accountability for creating and sustaining a positive school climate for stakeholders. Thus, they should be well-qualified and skilled to deal with different emotions of teachers and lead change effectively. Nevertheless, the results of this study indicate that 95 of principals scored low in the MSCEIT which indeed led to a negative impact on the school climate in their schools. To improve the levels of EI, principals need to be aware of emotional knowledge which is defined as ‘learning about emotions’ (Greenberg et al., 1995). This can be achieved by implementing professional development and training programs that would help to increase principals’ effectiveness as school leaders. As argued by Moore (2009), such professional development can promote empathy, self-awareness and flexibility as well as help principals acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and practices to restructure and redesign schools.Originality/valueThe overall aim of the study was to explore whether a correlation exists between the levels of EI of school principals and the SC as perceived by teachers. Other objectives were to identify the EI levels of school principals and investigate whether the number of years of experience as a school principal is correlated to the levels of EI. It was found that principals have low levels of EI as revealed by the MSCEIT scores. The findings also urge that continued research in this field will be beneficial for the schools and have a deeper and positive impact on the student’s achievements. The recruitment process of the principals can undergo alterations and adequate awareness and training can be built on decision making abilities, responding to the environmental stimuli, relationship building and the ability of the principal to motivate (Moore, 2009). The multi-faceted requirement of a school principal typically judged by student’s achievements seems to reckon with the theories of EI and therefore warrants further investigation in this neglected yet a vital area. Leading any institution is a stressful and emotionally laden activity. Hence school leaders need to be capacitated on issues related to emotions and school leadership. This paper concludes with the recommendation that leadership development programs for pre-service and in-service school principals should consider including sessions on EI.

This research studies the motives that lead Arabic-speaking university students to watch television programs in English or dubbed in Arabic, and diagnoses the possible effects of these programs on these young people. A field study was conducted on a sample of viewers of the MBC2 and MBC4 Channels in the UAE. A questionnaire was used as a tool to cover a sample of the community comprised of 200 young people who attend various public and private universities in the UAE, aged generally between 18 and 30. The applied study proves that there is no relationship between gender and audience preference, and that there is an independence of respondents' academic specialization and choice of channel. The study's results show that learning English is among the most important motives for the respondents to watch these programs and that 90% of respondents believe that watching foreign programs has negative effects on university youth.