The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government is investing millions of dollars every year in new facilities to improve the infrastructure of the country. Infrastructure development has been phenomenal in view of the relatively brief period since the country's establishment. In view of this, the construction industry is considered the largest single industry in UAE. Yet, it is also very complex and the most fragmented industry as it involves multidisciplinary participants and several stake holders. Today, construction projects are the subject of more claims than in any other time in history. Claims appear to hinder the completion of construction and cause delays in delivering projects. This research presents the results of a pilot study of the types, causes, and frequency of construction claims in the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi in UAE using a questionnaire survey that was conducted in the two emirates. The data received from the survey respondents is analyzed and recommendations to prevent/reduce claims in construction projects are then presented. It is expected that the findings of this research will help construction firms avoid the main causes of claims and, accordingly, minimize delays and cost overruns in construction projects.

Current environmental concerns have led to a search of more environmentally friendly manufacturing methods; thus, natural fibers have gained attention in the 3D printing industry to be used as bio-filters along with thermoplastics. The utilization of natural fibers is very convenient as they are easily available, cost-effective, eco-friendly, and biodegradable. Using natural fibers rather than synthetic fibers in the production of the 3D printing filaments will reduce gas emissions associated with the production of the synthetic fibers that would add to the current pollution problem. As a matter of fact, natural fibers have a reinforcing effect on plastics. This review analyzes how the properties of the different polymers vary when natural fibers processed to produce filaments for 3D Printing are added. The results of using natural fibers for 3D Printing are presented in this study and appeared to be satisfactory, while a few studies have reported some issues.

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E-learning offers tremendous benefits to teachers and students as it enhances the teaching and learning experience. Despite the adoption of e-learning in many educational institutions worldwide, delivery of construction management courses has been limited to traditional lecturing approach and the use of limited technology such as PowerPoint presentations and smartboards. This study investigates the effectiveness, benefits, and students’ satisfaction of using video-based e-learning approach in delivering the topics of a construction management undergraduate course by introducing instructional videos related to the topics of the course. A total of 67 undergraduate students were surveyed using a closed- and open-ended questionnaire in one of the leading universities in the United Arab Emirates. The survey was designed and posted using the Blackboard learning platform and students were asked to access these videos and respond to the survey via Blackboard. Surveyed students took the construction management undergraduate course in the “Fall 2018” semester using instructional videos supplied to them in the form of quick response codes in order to be more attractive learning experience to the students rather than using a direct web link that would be more accessible and even could be enriched with logo or numbers that reflects the quick response code contents rather than to distract them. This course has seven learning outcomes and the performance of students in the seven course learning outcomes was compared with that of students who took the same course in the “Spring 2018” semester using the conventional face-to-face lecturing. The responses received from students indicated that they are satisfied with the contents of the instruction videos and benefited from these videos. The received data were statistically analyzed and, despite the fact that this course required more hands-on applications, the results showed that e-learning resulted in better learning outcomes as compared to face-to-face lecturing and boosted student’s learning experience. Students also considered the e-learning approach useful as it allows them to access course material anytime and anywhere. Moreover, it has been revealed that absolutely more than 60% of the students preferred to study by blended learning, a combination of e-learning and traditional face-to-face lecturing since it is useful and helpful to their academic progress. It has been shown that despite the limited online e-learning resources of the course, educators can find solutions to enhance the traditional contents of the course material with the available online recorded resources or even to encourage students to develop a related interactive material to the course content that would be used for the subsequent semesters.