Researchers have focused on evaluating and exploring the online examination experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, understanding the perceptions of using an e-proctoring tool within the online examination experience is still limited. This study explores the first unique experience for students’ attitudes and concerns using an e-proctoring tool in their final exams during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also highlights the e-tools’ impact on students’ performances to guide educational institutions towards appropriate practices going forward, especially as the pandemic is expected to have far-reaching consequences. A mixed-methods analysis was used to examine heterogeneous sources of data including self-reported data and officially documented data. The data was analyzed by a qualitative analysis of the focus group and quantitative analyses of the survey questions and exam attempts. In June 2020, students participated in a focus group to elaborate on their attitudes and concerns pertaining to their e-proctoring experience. Based on the preliminary outcomes, a survey was developed and distributed to a purposive sample ( n = 106) of students from information technology majors who had taken at least one e-proctored exam during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, 21 online exams with 815 total attempts were analyzed to assess how well students performed under an e-proctored test. The study’s findings shed light on students’ perceptions of their e-proctoring experience, including their predominant concerns over privacy and various environmental and psychological factors. The research also highlights challenges in implementing the e-proctoring tool as well as its impact on students’ performance.

Purpose This paper aims to provide insights on Islamic marketing (IM) through discussing a number of controversial questions and paradoxes to understand deeply this new wave. Design/methodology/approach The paper is conceptual in nature. It is based on several assumptions of IM concepts and implications that were originated from literature. Couple of arguments were addressed deeply: the contradiction between conventional and IM, and the success of the non-Muslim companies before the emerging of IM, the importance of IM in the current era, the nature of the lens that is used in understanding IM and Islam as marketing tool or IM as a tool to promote Islam. Extensive debates were introduced through critical analysis and comparisons between various perspectives. Findings The paper presents the following key arguments: there is no apparent difference between conventional marketing and IM, as it is built on the core conventional marketing principles besides the Muslim Shariah and practices. Practitioners should focus on understanding the Muslim markets in context to particular practices and perceptions of that specific market. Islam does not need to be promoted by IM as huge sources are available; moreover, Islam is not a mere marketing tool, but a backbone to prevail the IM field. Originality/value The paper contributes to this new trend by introducing and analyzing paradoxes of IM. The discussion of the proposed controversial questions opens the door for new understanding of different perspectives for IM.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe and assess Arabic videos related to cancer treatment to gain insights about the nature of health information as it is shared on YouTube. Accordingly, future strategies for different bodies are suggested to promote effective communication. Design/methodology/approach The approach is to select a representative sample of YouTube videos for certain search terms related to cancer treatment in the Arabic language. In order to identify the search terms, Google Trends is utilized. To retrieve the most relevant videos, a simple python tool is developed using YouTube API V3. For this study, the first 150 relevant videos are quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. Objective data and subjective data are collected for each video and analyzed. Objective data include video title, URL, length, view count, like count, dislike count, comment count and the associated tags. For content analysis, coding themes are defined for the subjective data as follows: video format, video authorship and video content. Video content includes three categories: types of treatments, targeted part and evidence-based indicators. Findings The study included 150 videos, from which 30 videos were not content related; therefore, 120 videos remain in the analysis. Using rounding values, it can be observed that the average video lasted 10 min, had 184,966 views, was commented on 263 times, was liked by 2,295 users and disliked by 148 users. Non-professional individuals (46 percent) posted less than half of the videos, whereas public institutions posted only 18 percent of videos. More than half of videos (56 percent) promoted using herbal, botanical, and other natural products for cancer treatment. The majority of YouTube video formats were videos (52 percent), followed by audio with captions (30 percent). News and stories were the dominant videos, with (16 percent), and other types of videos were mostly testimonials and private centers promotions. Only 6 and 9 percent of videos targeted the genetic and immune systems, respectively. Out of the 120 analyzed videos, 86 percent did not mention any risk factor for the recommended treatment, and 73 percent did not offer the details of their usage direction. Research limitations/implications Researchers need to understand the information that is currently available on social media platforms related to the high-risk diseases in order to design initiatives, tools, and actions to allow an easy effective transfer of knowledge. Practical implications Recounting in-depth knowledge of YouTube cancer treatment contents will allow policy makers, YouTube management, medical organizations, and government agencies to understand the viewers’ behavior of YouTube and their needs to provide accurate and trustworthy information to adopt evidence-based resources. Social implications Creating the suitable content, in terms of health promotion strategies, associated with the appropriate format and understandable language that people need will be one of the major responsibilities of YouTube management, government and professional bodies. The well-designed health messages will enhance users’ engagement and attention to health issues from trusted sources. Originality/value There is very less information about Arabic messages in social media, YouTube in particular, specifically regarding cancer treatment. Thus, this study is one of the first studies to explore how Arabic messages are presented on YouTube. The aim of the assessment is to extract the current status and suggest future strategies for different bodies to have effective communication toward the Arabic communities.

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