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The purpose of this study is to examine students' perception of end‐of‐semester Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET), and to explore the extent to which SET are biased by non‐instructional factors.

A survey questionnaire about the end‐of‐semester SET was designed and administered to 819 students selected from a random list of summer classes at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Appropriate statistical analysis methods of the resulting data were performed.

The results of this study show that significant differences exist among the various demographic groups with respect to both students' perceptions of the evaluation process and their tendency to be biased by a number of non‐instructional factors. The study has presented evidence on how students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds affect their responses to SET.

This paper provides useful information for the academic community concerning the validity and reliability of SET rating scales used in US universities abroad and whether the data obtained from such rating scales should be used for administrative and personnel decisions. In addition, teachers should examine SET assessments with care before undertaking modifications to their teaching practices.

This paper was the first to examine SET in a US university overseas, where the majority of students are non‐native speakers of the English language, and of an Arab origin. The findings illuminate the importance of understanding the cultural and linguistic contexts of the institution in which SET are conducted.

The purpose of this paper is to present a model to predict the micro-hardness of friction stir processed (FSPed) AZ31B magnesium alloy using response surface methodology (RSM). Another objective is to identify process parameters and through-thickness position which will give higher micro-hardness values. Moreover, the study aims at defining the factor that exhibits the most effect on the micro-hardness. Friction stir processing (FSP) machine can then be fed with the optimized parameters to achieve desirable properties.

An experimental setup was designed to conduct FSP. Several AZ31B magnesium samples were FSPed at different combinations of rotational and translational speeds. The micro-hardness of all the combinations of process parameters was measured at different through-thickness positions. This was followed by an investigation of the three factors on the resulting micro-hardness. RSM was then used to develop a model with three factors and three levels to predict the micro-hardness of FSPed AZ31 magnesium alloy within the covered range. The analyses of variance in addition to experimental verification were both used to validate the model. This was followed by an optimization of the response.

The model showed excellent capability of predicting the micro-hardness values as well as the optimum values of the three factors that would result in better micro-hardness. The model was able to capture the effects of rotational speed, translational speed, and through-thickness position. Results suggest that micro-hardness values were mostly sensitive to changes in tool rotational speed.

FSP is considered to be one of the advanced microstructural modification techniques which is capable of enhancing the mechanical properties of light-weight alloys. However, the lack of accurate models which are capable of predicting the resulted properties from process parameters hinders the widespread utilization of this technique. At the same time, RSM is considered as a vital branch of experimental design due to its ability to develop new processes and optimize their performance. Hence, the developed model is very beneficial and is meant to save time and experimental effort toward effective use of FSP to get the desired/optimum micro-hardness distribution.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the physicochemical and sensory properties of fish patties added with banana peel powder (BPP), Musa balbisiana.

Four different fish patty formulations were produced containing 0 per cent (BPP0) (Control), 2 per cent (BPP2), 4 per cent (BPP4) and 6 per cent (BPP6) of BPP (M. balbisiana).

The addition of BPP was shown to improve the hardness, cooking yield, water holding capacity (WHC) and redness (a* value) as well as the dietary fibre (DF) content (p<0.05). The BPP, however, also turned the fish patties darker (lower L*) (p<0.05). Sensory evaluation showed that fish patties with a concentration of 2 per cent BPP had the highest overall acceptability, whereas the concentration of 6 per cent BPP was found to be unacceptable compared to that of control sample (p<0.05). The declining sensory acceptability of fish patty with 6 per cent BPP is related to the harder texture and the darker color of the patties compared to the control sample (BPP0).

The addition of BPP can potentially improve the quality of fish patties in terms of textural properties (hardness) by increasing their WHC, reducing the cooking loss and enhancing the DF content.