Humanities and Social Sciences Research Center (HSSRC)
Introduction
The Humanities and Social Sciences Research Center (HSSRC) aims to organize major research projects and study important societal issues within the Emirati society and other cultural groups globally. HSSRC will provide a distinct climate of comprehensive research opportunities as well as an ability to attract high-quality scientific researchers through partnerships and collaborations. The center will promote innovative research, develop new generations of social scientists, deepen how inquiry is practiced within and across disciplines, and mobilize important knowledge on pressing community issues.
Vision
To become a leading Center in the Arab Middle East region we aim to provide services and support to address issues within the research fields of humanities, social sciences, community studies, and educational studies. This will give social scientists the ability to reach other professionals in government, non-profit organizations, shareholders, and the public to make research contributions to these fields easily accessible to address regional and global concerns today.
Mission
To strengthen research culture in humanities and social sciences that are related to community studies such as case studies and field studies in UAE society and that will contribute to educational and language studies programs. Furthermore, we are working with partners all over the world to connect research to practice and policy, to strengthen individual and institutional learning capacities, and to improve public access to information.
Goals and Objectives
HSSRC seeks to achieve the following goals and objectives:
- Generate research plans and programs in humanities and social sciences and social issues that are consistent with the AU mission and goals to become a leading research university with a high international ranking.
- Conduct, locally and internationally, research opportunities that incorporate fieldwork, past and present case studies and collaborate within a peer-review framework with the ability to address societal issues in the UAE and other countries and provide recommendations and solutions.
- Hold conferences, training workshops, seminars, and lectures to develop, improve, and achieve AU’s research and community service objectives.
- Encourage and support applied research, field studies, and case studies related to the development and service of the UAE society.
- Hold local and international collaboration agreements and provide financial support for studies and research projects.
- Provide faculty members and students from the College of Humanities & Social Sciences with all possible resources needed to conduct research and studies that benefit the Emirati society.
- Organize an annual international educational conference on learning and instruction, creativity and innovation in education, and new trends in teaching and assessment strategies.
Organizational Structure
- Dr Soumaya Abdellatif, Head of HSSRC
- Scientific Council: Professor Shaher Momani- Dr Soumaya Abdellatif- Dr Mohamed Eltahir- Dr Najeh Alsalhi
- General Secretary and Rapporteur: Dr Najeh Alsalhi.
- Members: Thirteen faculty members from the College of Humanities and Sciences; from the following departments: Sociology, Psychology, Education, and Languages.
- Associate Researchers from national and international Universities.
Research Groups and areas of interest.
The following research groups within the HSSRC will conduct fundamental and applied research in the respective subject areas:
1- Educational Studies Research Group.
2- Sociology Research Group.
3- Psychology Research Group.
4- Languages, Literature and Civilizations Research Group.
5- Demography and Population Studies Research Group.
6- Law, Institutions and Societies Research Group.
Research collaboration with institutions and organizations
1- Griffith University, Australia.
2- Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
3- Mutah University, Jordan.
4- United Arab Emirates University,UAE
5- University of Sharjah, UAE.
6- Al Ain University - Al Ain, UAE.
7- Ajman Statistics and Competitiveness Center, UAE.
HSSRC Members
Head of HSSRC HSSRC Members
HSSRC Publications
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Alsalhi, Najeh. R., Omar, Khawla., Eltahir, Mohd. E., & Al-Qatawneh, Sami. S. (2022). Undergraduate students' perceptions of the use of simulation software through online learning in colleges of engineering during the covid-19 pandemic: A case study at al-Balqa applied university, Jordan. Periodicals of Engineering and Natural Sciences. 10 (1), .678-691. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21533/pen.v10i1.2753
- Alsalhi, Najeh. R., Omar, Khawla., Eltahir, Mohd. E., & Al-Qatawneh, Sami. S. (2022). Undergraduate students' perceptions of the use of simulation software through online learning in colleges of engineering during the covid-19 pandemic: A case study at al-Balqa applied university, Jordan. Periodicals of Engineering and Natural Sciences. 10 (1), .678-691. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21533/pen.v10i1.2753
- Alsalhi, Najeh. R., Qusef, Abdallah. D., Al-Qatawneh, Sami. S., & Eltahir, Mohd. E. (2022). Students’ Perspective on Online Assessment during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Higher Education Institutions. Information Sciences Letters. 11 (1), 37-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.18576/isl/110106
- Tizreena Binti Mohd Ismail, & Najeh Rajeh Alsalhi. (2022). Language Assessment and Writer Identity in Higher Education:
A Qualitative Analysis of Labeling Learners through Placement Tests. Information Sciences Letters. 11 (2), 417- 426. http://dx.doi.org/10.18576/isl/110212 - Beichi, A. M,. Tchalabi, S.M,. & Najeh Alsalhi, N.R. (2022). Internal Consistency Between Validity a nd Reliability in Academic Research: An Evaluation Study. Journal of Statistics Applications and Probability. 11(1), 207-2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.18576/jsap/110121
- Balsam Qubais Saeed, Najeh Rajeh Alsalhi, Ahmed Omar Adrees, & Kubais Saeed Fahady. (2022). Knowledge and Practice of People toward Enhancing the Immune System before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. information Sciences Letters. 11 (2), 309- 317. http://dx.doi.org/10.18576/isl/110201
- Amel Mohamed Beichi, Sakina Mhamed Tchalabi & Najeh Rajeh Alsalhi. (2022). A Comparative Study of Social Life Style in Infected and Uninfected Youth with Covid-19. information Sciences Letters. 11 (2), 369-383. http://dx.doi.org/10.18576/isl/110208
- Balsam Saeed, Bakhtawar Imtiaz1, Shaikha Alhaj, Sana Alnoman, Abdelrahman Nouh ,Kamel Al Homsi, Ahmed Omar Adrees, Najeh Alsalhi, & Kubais Saeed Fahady. (2022). Knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and, risk perception towards seasonal influenza and vaccination among adult population of UAE. Periodicals of Engineering and Natural Sciences. 10(2), 30-40. http://pen.ius.edu.ba/index.php/pen/article/view/2752A. Zehioua, A. Beichi , N. Alsalhi and A. Bara. (2022). Distance Education during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Transactional Distance Theory Perspective. information Sciences Letters. 11 (2), 399-415. http://dx.doi.org/10.18576/isl/110211
HSSRC Internal Projects
Project No.1: Students and faculty member perspectives on applying blended learning during the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic: a comparative study
The United Arab Emirates is committed to merging technology with learning approaches into all higher education institutions like blended learning (BL). The purpose of this study is to identify the perspectives of students and faculty members on the application of Blended Learning in higher education at Ajman University, UAE, and Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Jordan. The study will be conducted using a descriptive research model, and a 35-item questionnaire was designed to be used as a data collection tool. After its validity was verified, the questionnaire will be administered to 30% of participants that will recruit from a variety of colleges during the first academic semester of 2021/2022. SPSS will be used to analyze the data of the study.
Project No.2:The implementation of online learning in conventional higher education institutions during the spread of COVID-19: a comparative study
The purpose of this study is to investigate and explore the degree of success of the implementation of online learning in conventional higher education institutions instead of face-to-face learning during the spread of the Covid-19 Pandemic during the 2019/2020 academic year, via exploring the undergraduate students' perceptions of the application of the online learning system at Ajman University in UAE, and Griffith University in Australia. In the study, the descriptive approach was used. A questionnaire consisting of 40 items was designed and distributed to 630 students from Ajman University and 675 students from Griffith University, who were randomly selected from different faculties of the two universities during the 2019/2020 academic year during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the study revealed that students' a moderate satisfaction with the University's readiness, training, and technical support for online learning and the university's teaching and learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic, with female students finding them more satisfaction than male students. Disciplines and computer skills also showed an impact on such satisfaction, with Pharmacy & Health Science College students at Ajman University and Architecture, Art, and Design discipline students at Griffith University, and those with excellent computer skills in both Universities. In addition, the results showed positive attitudes of students towards the use of online learning at the two universities during the COVID-19 pandemic.