A phenomenological study of Western expatriates’ adjustment to Saudi Arabia

Effectiveness of ChatGPT in remote learning environments: An empirical study with medical students in Saudi Arabia

Purpose: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of ChatGPT in remote learning among medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional survey study recruited 386 medical students from three public universities in Saudi Arabia. Participants completed an online questionnaire designed to assess perceptions of ChatGPT's effectiveness in remote learning. The questionnaire included Likert scale questions to evaluate various aspects of ChatGPT's support in remote learning, such as personalized learning, language and communication skills, and interactive quizzing. Data were analyzed using SPSS, employing descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Cronbach's alpha to evaluate reliability. Results: Participants mostly used ChatGPT on a weekly (43.2%) or daily (48.7%) basis, primarily on personal computers (62.5%). Mean scores for ChatGPT's support in remote learning were high for personalized learning (4.35), language and communication skills (4.23), and interactive quizzing and assessments (4.01). Statistically significant differences were found based on gender for interactive quizzing (p = .0177) and continuity of education (p = .0122). Conclusion: Despite certain challenges and variations in perceptions based on gender and education level, the overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward ChatGPT highlight its potential as a valuable tool in medical education.

Characteristics and outcome of COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia: Review of six-months of data (March-August 2020)

BACKGROUND

This study presents the demographic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Saudi Arabia (KSA). It identifies the important predictors of the disease prognosis.

METHODS

The study reviewed and analysed a sample of 307,010 confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 cases, between March and August 2020, available in the health electronic surveillance system (HESN) of the Ministry of Health of KSA. Descriptive and univariate analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

The overall estimated prevalence of symptomatic COVID-19 cases in KSA between March and August 2020 was 6.1% . The estimated incidence proportion was 879.7 per 100,000 population. The overall case fatality ratio was 2.0%. Males represented 63.9% , with a mean age of 35.1 ± 16.6 years. Young adults (16-39 years) were the most affected ages (53.3%). Fever (90.5%) with a mean body temperature of 37.4 ± 2.0 Celsius, cough (90%), and sore throat (77.4%) were the most prevalent symptoms. A history of contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case was reported in 98.8% of patients.Males (2.1%) and elderly cases aged 65-99 years (25.6%) had the highest association with mortality (p < .001). Among the clinical characteristics investigated, low oxygen saturation (SpO2 ≤ 93%) had the highest association with hospital admission (50.8%) and mortality (19.1%) (p < .001). Cases with cardiovascular diseases (28.6%) and malignancy (28%) demonstrated the highest associations with mortality compared to other underlying diseases (p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

In KSA, the prevalent symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough, and sore throat. Makkah and Almadinah regions are significantly associated with highest burden of mortality. The low level of oxygen saturation, high fever, old age, and underlying cardiovascular disease are the most important predictors for prognosis.

Bargaining Power: A Framework for Understanding Varieties of Migration Experience

This article introduces the concept of bargaining power as a framework for understanding varieties of migration experience and behavior. We argue that migration and settlement experiences vary according to a migrant’s leverage — or bargaining power — afforded by their individual cultural and socioeconomic capital (internal bargaining power) and their home country’s political and physical security characteristics (external bargaining power). These two dimensions of bargaining power interact with a host country’s social and political structures to produce specific experiences of (dis)advantage. We apply our framework to the Arab Gulf states, where large and diverse foreign populations experience complex and interconnected forms of inclusion and exclusion. Utilizing data from a nationally representative survey of a highly diverse sample of foreign residents in Qatar, we use our framework, first, to generate a typology of Gulf migration experience and, then, to statistically predict migrants’ reported life satisfaction in the host country and intentions for long-term settlement. We also use widely available secondary data to examine objective correlates of bargaining power, offering an alternative pathway for future research that does not require individual-level survey data. We conclude by describing the relevance of our bargaining power framework to the study of varieties of migration experience in other migration regimes.

Forbearance of culturally inappropriate leadership behaviors: a conceptual model

Purpose

Selection and training of expatriates emphasizes the importance of respecting and adapting to local cultural norms. However, even when motivated to modify their behavior, expatriates tend to act in ways which transgress host country cultural norms. While such transgressions can harm working relationships between expatriate manager and host country nationals (HCNs), this is not an inevitable outcome. The purpose of this paper is to apply the social psychological construct of forbearance to create a model which considers how transgression severity, responsibility attributions made by the HCN, empathy, and expatriate manager reputation influence HCN forbearance in the face of culturally inappropriate leadership behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper, which proposes forbearance as a process which can reduce dysfunctional outcomes on working relationships resulting from culturally inappropriate behaviors by expatriate managers.

Findings

The author argues that differences between expatriate and host country implicit leadership theories influence HCN attributions for culturally inappropriate leadership behaviors. These attributions, together with expatriate reputation, HCN empathy, and the severity of the cultural transgression, will determine the extent to which HCNs are likely to exercise forbearance.

Research limitations/implications

The paper suggests several important lines of research into the initial establishment of an effective working relationship between expatriate and HCN. Suggestions for further elaboration and testing of the model are also provided.

Practical implications

The model points to important processes (e.g. establishing incoming expatriate’s reputation, managing attributions, and facilitating empathy) which have the potential to reduce difficulties early in the assignment.

Originality/value

Much research into expatriate adjustment focuses on the expatriate. This paper adopts the perspective of the HCN, providing a framework for better understanding perceptual and attributional processes influencing the relationship.