BSpace

The British University in Dubai (BUiD) Digital Repository

Welcome to BSpace, the online institutional repository of the British University in Dubai. BSpace provides access to the Dissertations, Thesis, Research projects, Faculty publications and archives of BUiD.

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Recent Submissions

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    The Influence of Instructors in Developing Instructional Leadership Skills to Teacher Trainees in the UAE
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2025-03) ALBLOOSHI, HUDA ABDULLA; Dr David, Solomon Arulraj
    The evolving demands of education underscore the critical role of instructional leadership in preparing teacher trainees to meet future challenges. However, the conceptualization and developing of instructional leadership skills (ILS) in higher education remain underexplored, particularly in the UAE. This study aims to examine the influence of instructors on developing ILS to teacher trainees across five campuses within a higher education institution in the UAE, utilizing Hallinger and Murphy’s instructional leadership model and a pragmatic mixed-methods approach. The research involved 247 teacher trainees, and 48 instructors questioned quantitatively, alongside qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews with 30 participants (2 instructors and 4 trainees per campus). Quantitative analysis, including regression and Mann-Whitney U tests, revealed that role modelling, mentoring, and reflective practices significantly enhanced ILS development, contributing to 25% and 18% of the variance, respectively. Leadership styles such as democratic and transformational leadership were strongly associated with effective ILS development, while barriers included resource constraints and rigid performance practices. Qualitative findings identified eight dimensions of ILS, including Vision, Curriculum Leadership, and Monitoring and Evaluation. Experiential learning, collaborative environments, and supportive leadership emerged as key enablers, while logistical challenges, lack of resources, and cultural expectations were notable barriers. Participants emphasized the importance of a supportive learning environment and structured professional development programs in fostering ILS. The findings underscore the interplay of instructional strategies, leadership styles, and contextual factors in shaping teacher trainees’ effectiveness. Keywords: instructional leadership, instructional leadership skills, teacher trainees, UAE
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    Quantitative Analysis of Project Delays and Mitigation Strategies at an Engineering Organisation in the UAE
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2025-10) AL AZZAWI, SUHAIB; Prof Ameer, Alaa
    Complex operational environments, tight deadlines, fast-tracked projects and high demands from multiple stakeholders (both internal and external) present significant challenges in the engineering sector, particularly Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) and energy retrofit fields in the UAE. These changes often lead to project delays, which result in increased budgets and stakeholder or customer dissatisfaction. Energy efficiency and sustainability are two of the primary motivators for the UAE construction and engineering industry, yet both are negatively affected by project delays. This research provides a quantitative analysis of project delays based on three comprehensive real-world case studies of MEP and energy retrofit projects executed by an engineering organisation in the UAE. A retrospective delay analysis of As-Built vs As-Planned schedules was applied to quantify delays, identify and categorise primary and secondary causes, and measure their time impact and critical contributions. Supporting tools such as Root Cause Analysis, Gantt Charts, Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategies were employed. The findings highlight client-related delays as the major contributors, followed by insufficiencies in internal processes, procurement and supply chain management. This dissertation offers valuable insights into proactive delay management and proposes actionable strategies tailored to the unique characteristics of MEP and energy projects executed within an operational shopping mall facility in Sharjah, where numerous external and internal factors critically influence project performance. The study also outlines future recommendations and research limitations to enhance adaptability to evolving project and market requirements in the UAE. Keywords: project management, engineering project delay, delay analysis, mitigation strategies, root cause analysis, risk management, MEP projects, energy projects, energy retrofit projects, UAE
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    The Role of Stakeholder Engagement in Sustainable Business Model Value Creation: The Mediating Effects of Dynamic Capability and Organisational Agility in Dubai’s Private Healthcare
    (The British University in Dubai, 2025-09) ​SAJWANI, REHAB ANWAR; Dr Papadaki, Maria
    This study examines the influence of stakeholder engagement on sustainable business model value creation, mediated by dynamic capability and organisational agility. As sustainability has become a pressing global priority, this has compelled organisations, including those in the healthcare sector, to integrate it into their strategic and operational practices to tackle the increasing environmental, social, and economic pressures. Dubai’s healthcare sector, in particular, faces rapid population growth, increasing resource consumption, and the imperative to align with national sustainability initiatives such as the UAE Vision 2050. Grounded in stakeholder theory, stakeholder engagement is positioned as a driver for value creation, while dynamic capability and organisational agility are conceived as core organisational capabilities that mediate this relationship. A quantitative research methodology was employed, using a survey research strategy and questionnaire research instrument to collect data from 245 private healthcare organisations in Dubai. The findings reveal a significant positive relationship between stakeholder engagement and sustainable business model value creation. This effect is further conveyed through the partial mediation of dynamic capability and organisational agility, underscoring their strategic importance in enhancing a competitive advantage, organisational adaptability, and value creation. Theoretically, the study advances the project management scholarship by offering evidence-based insights into the integration of stakeholder engagement with organisational capabilities to strengthen sustainability outcomes. Practically, it equips healthcare leaders, policymakers, and project managers with actionable insights to align stakeholder engagement strategies with the long-term sustainability objectives.
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    A Novel Versatile Framework for Enabling Early Detection of Evolving Network-based Cyberattacks
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2025-02) THOMAS, RAJESH; Dr Yerima, Suleiman
    Network-based cyber-attacks have been increasing in scale, frequency and sophistication, posing significant threats to nation states and organizations worldwide. Researchers have proposed various anomaly-based solutions to detect such attacks and address the shortcomings of traditional signature-based methods. However, these solutions either require complex preprocessing to extract network flow statistics or depend on hand-crafted features from domain expertise, thus adding computational overhead that limits the ability for early attack detection. To address these limitations, this thesis proposes a novel framework called FPAC (Flexible Parser Anonymizer Converter) which is designed to enable early detection of different types of attacks by processing only the first few packets of network flows. The study departs from established methods that rely on flow statistics and hand-crafted features by introducing innovative techniques for processing and learning from raw network traffic bytes. In the thesis, two attack detection scenarios i.e. Botnet and Low-rate Denial of Service (LDoS), and four different low overhead techniques i.e. Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG), entropy byte histogram, byte-based feature learning, and representation learning from bytes, were used to demonstrate the applicability of the FPAC framework for early attack detection. Experiments were performed to validate the FPAC approach using the CTU botnet and the UTSA 2021 LDoS datasets. For botnet attack detection, the byte-based feature learning techniques with Decision Trees (DT) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) performed optimally, achieving 99.9% accuracy with fast detection times ranging from 0.006 to 0.026 seconds. Image-based approaches using HOG and entropy byte histogram also achieved 99.4% and 100% accuracy, respectively, while incurring reduced overheads compared to related works. The 1D CNN model matched the best byte-based results with 99.9% accuracy, validating the role of deep learning within the FPAC framework. For LDoS attack detection, which is inherently more challenging due to its subtle nature, all four lightweight techniques employed in this thesis performed favourably compared to existing approaches. The byte-based method again delivered the best results, achieving 95.8% accuracy. Image-based techniques attained accuracies of 88.9% for HOG and 92.1% for entropy byte histogram with XGB, while the representation learning from bytes approach using 1D CNN achieved 95.6% accuracy. These results outperform computationally expensive methods reported in related works, showcasing that the FPAC framework achieves high detection performance with very low overheads while also generalizing effectively across different network attack types. Keywords: network-based attacks, early attack detection, machine learning, representation learning, botnet, LDoS, HOG, entropy byte histogram.
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    Ventilation System Modelling and Turbulence Minimisation
    (Word Scientific Connect, 2014) WHALLEY, R.; ABDUL-AMEER, A.
    In this feasibility study, a large scale ventilation system comprising spatially dispersed enclosed volumes, fans, ducting and airways is considered. Analytical procedures enabling the construction of simple, compact models including the relatively pointwise and significantly distributed system elements are proposed. Modeling accuracy, with the incorporation of the entrance and exit impedances and the airway, continuous energy storage and dissipation effects are emphasized. Output flow maximization, under quiescent operating conditions is investigated and the optimum relationships between the airway characteristic impedance, entrance and exit resistances are established. The minimization of the vibration and turbulence arising from the continuous compression/expansion effects arising from the input–output volume airflow difference is achieved, whilst simultaneously maximizing the output volume airflow. Variations in the parameter values are employed to confirm the effectiveness of operating under optimum conditions, for ventilation system airways with various dimensions and characteristics.