Firefighters can be considered one the most stressful occupations as they are often responding to emergencies in a time-constrained environment while frequently performing hazardous activities, and may even get complaints from the public when they are not satisfied. Firefighters' missions are very sensitive and critical as their work is related to saving people and the environment from fire hazards. The nature of firefighters' operation, which includes saving people, offering medical assistance, going through debris, etc. made "attention" to be an essential component in their work. If attention is lost while performing their decisions, this would lead to severe consequences for both people and property. One of the reasons of attention loss is to be under occupational stress. This paper explores the key factors of occupational stress among firefighters in Kuwait. The work is based on a series of interviews, which are engaged from the perspective of psychological contract, as a mean to explore the different areas that could be related to high stress levels among the firefighters in the region. The interviews use psychological contract as an exploratory tool that partially guides the dialogue among a series of potential factors in their lifestyle and work environment, expectations, etc. The collected data is analyzed on a one by one basis, to categorize and identify which of the topics discussed is more relevant as an occupational stressor for the firefighters. The results show that witnessing and experiencing traumatic events during missions, and fear of injuries are the top stressors among the firefighters in the region, and that perception regarding the presence of stressors is inversely correlated with age.

This study dwells into the relationships and the impact of Leadership Styles (LS) and Organizational Learning (OL) practices on Organizational Competitiveness (OC) of the organizations in the Republic of North Macedonia. Correlation and regression are employed for data analysis. The data analysis is conducted by using Excel and SPSS. The findings shed light on getting a more comprehensive understanding of organizational competitiveness. Shared Vision (SV) and Systems Thinking (ST) are found to have the strongest positive correlation with OC. The efficiency and effectiveness are also found to be affected by the Learning Organization Disciplines. Efficiency, especially, is found to be impacted when practicing Directive Leadership Style. However, the efficiency and quick and effective adjustment of changes are not affected when using cooperation as a coaching leadership approach, nor when explanation, demonstration, and verification are used in a mixed leadership approach. The limitation of this research study comes mainly from geographical concentration. However, the managerial implications from provided insights about the relationships and impacts are indeed diversified and plentiful which should help managers and leaders in adjusting their strategies and activities for their respective organizations. Scholars can consider these findings to tap into the complex nature of the phenomena of achieving and sustaining organizational competitiveness.

This study investigated the gap between the perceived and actual air quality in Kuwait and its implications for public health. A structured questionnaire was designed with three main sections: demographic information, lifestyle habits, and perceptions of air quality. Perceived air quality data were compared with real-time PM2.5, PM10, HCHO, and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) measurements. Although the PM2.5 and PM10 levels were statistically associated with the perceived air quality (Odds Ratios (OD) of 1.04 and 1.03, respectively), the practical effect was minimal. Most participants did not recognize poor air quality until PM2.5 exceeded 59 μg/m³ - nearly four times higher than the WHO short-term exposure limit - implying limited real-world sensitivity to pollution. In contrast, health status, particularly chronic cough or asthma, strongly influenced air quality perception. Smoking, frequent exposure to perfume, or exposure to Bukhoor were not significantly associated with the participants' perception of air quality, possibly suggesting olfactory fatigue. These findings pointed to a regional desensitization to air pollutants and highlighted the need for improved public awareness, early alert systems, and protective interventions for at-risk populations.

Hazards are the primary cause of occupational accidents, as well as occupational safety and health issues. Therefore, identifying potential hazards is critical to reducing the consequences of accidents. Risk assessment is a widely employed hazard analysis method that mitigates and monitors potential hazards in our everyday lives and occupational environments. Risk assessment and hazard analysis are observing, collecting data, and generating a written report. During this process, safety engineers manually and periodically control, identify, and assess potential hazards and risks. Utilizing a mobile application as a tool might significantly decrease the time and paperwork involved in this process. This paper explains the sequential processes involved in developing a mobile application designed for hazard analysis for safety engineers. This study comprehensively discusses creating and integrating mobile application features for hazard analysis, adhering to the Unified Modeling Language (UML) approach. The mobile application was developed by implementing a 10-step approach. Safety engineers from the region were interviewed to extract the knowledge and opinions of experts regarding the application’s effectiveness, requirements, and features. These interview results are used during the requirement gathering phase of the mobile application design and development. Data collection was facilitated by utilizing voice notes, photos, and videos, enabling users to engage in a more convenient alternative to manual note-taking with this mobile application. The mobile application will automatically generate a report once the safety engineer completes the risk assessment.