Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of human resource management (HRM) practices on organizational commitment in Palestinian universities, and to examine the mediating effect of work engagement as a black-box mechanism that defines HRM practices–organizational commitment relationship. Design/methodology/approach The source of the data is from 237 employees (academics and administrative staff) from Palestinian universities. The authors used structural equation modeling to verify the hypotheses. Findings The results reveal that HRM practices have a significant impact on employee organizational commitment in higher education. In addition, work engagement showed a significant mediating effect between performance appraisal and organizational commitment on the one hand, and between rewards and compensation and organizational commitment on the other hand. Practical implications The study suggests university managers to capitalize on HRM practices as vehicle to trigger positive work-related attitudes. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature by examining the impact of HRM practices on organizational commitment through the mediation role of work engagement in higher education of a non-western context. The study is one of the few studies that is conducted in the middle east.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the links between organizational culture, innovation and banks’ performance in Palestine. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered from 186 employees working in the Palestinian banking sector. The data gathered were analyzed using the PLS-SEM approach. Findings The findings of the study show that organizational culture and marketing innovation have a positive impact on banks’ performance. Moreover, it was found that marketing performance partially mediates the relationship between organizational culture and banks’ performance. Practical implications The paper may be of use for banks managers to create an organizational culture, which fosters both innovation and performance. Originality/value The paper is unique as it examines organizational culture, innovation and performance links in a non-western context.

Purpose As volunteering research in nonprofit organizations is growing significantly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of volunteering drivers and work engagement on volunteer continuation will. Design/methodology/approach Building on empirical and theoretical perspectives, the authors hypothesized that work engagement mediates the relationship between volunteering drivers and volunteer continuation will. To verify our hypotheses, we examined data collected from 372 active volunteers from Palestinian nonprofit organizations. The authors conducted structural equations modeling (SEM) analyses using the AMOS 24 platform to investigate direct and indirect effects. Findings The results of the study show that work engagement is a significant predictor of volunteer continuation will; mediates the relationship between career driver of volunteering and volunteer continuation will; and mediates the relationship between the protective driver of volunteering and volunteer continuation will. Research limitations/implications The research design limits establishing cause and effect relationships among the examined variables. Practical implications The results of the current study may be of use for nonprofit organizations managers formulating effective recruitment and training policies to retain their volunteers. Originality/value The paper contributes to the limited empirical body of the volunteering research. The study is novel as it is one of the few studies conducted using data coming from a non-western context.

There is a lack of knowledge about the existing national anti-smoking legislation among university students in Gaza, Palestine. Smoking cessation centres also seem non-existent in Gaza. Multi-level interventions and actions are required by policy makers, educators and non-governmental agencies to prevent smoking among university students in Gaza, and to educate them on tobacco cessation counselling, on the dangers of tobacco use, and about effective stress management strategies to help them to cope with stressors. Smoking cessation interventions are required to address both cigarette and narghile use. Efforts need to be invested in ensuring compliance with legislation and for follow-up activities to enforce the anti-smoking laws through coordinated actions across ministries and departments.

University/college period is one of the stressful stage of life, and depressive symptoms and stress are health problems among students worldwide. Understanding nutrition-mood associations may enable students to make healthier food choices that lead to a healthier life style. The present study investigated the relationship between food consumption and stress and depressive symptoms among university/college students in Gaza strip, Palestine. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken among undergraduates enrolled across 5 universities and 3 colleges in Gaza Strip (n=1409). Self-administered questionnaires included a 12-item food frequency questionnaire; Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale and modified Beck Depression Inventory. Gender and university comparisons were performed. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses were computed for each of the two outcomes; perceived stress and depressive symptoms. In general, females consumed sweets, snacks, fresh fruits and salad/raw vegetables and cooked vegetables more commonly than males, whereas males generally consumed fast food/canned food and cake/cookies, meat/sausage products, fish/sea food, cereal/cereal products and dairy/dairy products more commonly than females with differences across various universities/colleges. Perceived stress and depressive symptoms scores were generally higher among females than males. The univariable analysis showed that significant associations between various food groups and perceived stress and depressive symptoms were more evident for males. In addition, for males, all food groups were negatively associated with perceived stress as well as with depressive symptoms. For females, the exceptions of such negative associations were observed with meat/sausage products, fish/sea food and cereal/cereal products for perceived stress, and only with cereal/cereal products for depressive symptoms. The multivariable analysis indicated that frequent consumption of 'unhealthy' food such as sweets/cookies/snacks/fast food was significantly associated with lower perceived stress among males only. In addition, frequent consumption of 'healthy' foods such as fruits/vegetables was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms, but for both sexes. In conclusion, university/college students used food whether 'unhealthy' or/and 'healthy' as a coping strategy to reduce tremendous and continuous stress due to the imposed Israeli siege since the year 2006 which affects all aspects of life in Gaza strip.

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