Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted An Exploratory Study of the Challenges of Teaching Cybersecurity in Saudi Arabia's TVTC Colleges(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alzahrani, Hameed; Schaeffer, DonnaThe increasing complexity of cyber threats and the global shortage of cybersecurity professionals have made cybersecurity education a strategic priority worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) introduced a Bachelor of Cybersecurity program to support Vision 2030's digital transformation goals. Following a 2023 TVTC administrative decision suspending bachelor-level admissions at its technical colleges, this study was conducted as a post-implementation review, capturing instructor knowledge before it dissipated. This qualitative exploratory study investigated the perspectives of 17 TVTC cybersecurity instructors across six colleges in Saudi Arabia, using semi-structured interviews conducted in Arabic. Thematic saturation was reached after the tenth interview, and data were analyzed using inductive thematic coding in MAXQDA. The study examined three areas: the challenges instructors face delivering cybersecurity education, their perceptions of hands-on and experiential learning, and their views on innovative teaching methods such as Capture-the-Flag competitions, cyber ranges, and cloud-based labs. Findings reveal a significant pedagogical-operational gap between curricular ambitions and the organizational realities of technical colleges, driven by administrative constraints, infrastructure limitations, and student heterogeneity. These insights carry direct relevance for TVTC's newly introduced Cybersecurity Diploma program, informing admission policies, content delivery, and infrastructure planning, and provide a strategic foundation should the bachelor program resume. Ultimately, this work aims to strengthen the preparation of cybersecurity graduates equipped to meet Saudi Arabia's evolving digital security needs under Vision 2030.11 0Item Restricted INVESTIGATING ASPARAGINASE-RELATED HEPATOTOXICITY IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alqahtani, Amani; Alachkar, HoudaAcute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common pediatric malignancy and is now associated with excellent long-term survival rates in pediatrics, largely due to the incorporation of asparaginase into multi-agent chemotherapy regimens. However, asparaginase is associated with hepatotoxicity, which may lead to treatment interruption and adversely affect clinical outcomes. Hispanic patients with ALL experience disproportionately higher disease burden and treatment-related toxicities, yet the biological mechanisms underlying these disparities remain incompletely understood. This dissertation investigated the clinical, genetic, metabolic, and predictive determinants of asparaginase-induced hepatotoxicity in pediatric ALL, with a particular focus on Hispanic populations. A retrospective cohort of 250 pediatric ALL patients treated at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles was analyzed to evaluate the incidence and clinical significance of hepatotoxicity using clinically meaningful CTCAE-based criteria. Hepatotoxicity occurred in 45.2% of patients and was significantly more frequent in Hispanic compared with non-Hispanic patients. Hispanic ethnicity remained an independent predictor of hepatotoxicity and was associated with treatment delays, increased minimal residual disease positivity, and inferior relapse-free survival. Pharmacogenomic analyses demonstrated that higher polygenic risk scores and increased Indigenous American ancestry were independently associated with greater susceptibility to hepatotoxicity. Integrated untargeted and targeted metabolomics further revealed profound alterations in lipid metabolism, mitochondrial β-oxidation, oxidative stress, and nucleotide metabolism, with Hispanic patients exhibiting distinct metabolic signatures enriched for oxidative stress and lipid remodeling. Finally, multi-omics predictive models integrating clinical, genetic, and metabolomic variables demonstrated improved discrimination (ability to correctly distinguish patients who developed hepatotoxicity from those who did not) and calibration (closer alignment between predicted and observed risk) compared with clinical-only models. Collectively, these findings provide a comprehensive framework for understanding asparaginase-induced hepatotoxicity and support the development of precision medicine strategies to improve treatment safety and outcomes in high-risk pediatric ALL populations.8 0Item Restricted Advanced Stock Portfolio Optimization Under Multiple Risk Measures: Mixed-Integer Linear Programming Models and a Comparative Analysis(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alqarni, Sharifah Dhafer; Subasi, Munevver MinePortfolio optimization is a fundamental problem at the intersection of finance, economics, operations research, and applied mathematics. It aims to allocate capital among financial assets in a way that balances return generation and risk control. Classical portfolio optimization approaches, particularly Markowitz’s mean variance framework and related risk-adjusted performance measures, have provided important foundations for portfolio selection. However, these approaches may not fully capture the multiple dimensions of risk faced by risk-averse investors, including downside losses, the frequency of loss occurrences, and the magnitude of extreme losses. These limitations motivate the development of more flexible optimization models that incorporate multiple risk measures, investor preferences, and practical portfolio constraints. This dissertation develops and analyzes six mixed-integer linear programming models for stock portfolio optimization under multiple risk and return objectives, where downside risk, potential loss occurrence, and largest loss magnitude are minimized and expected portfolio return is maximized through a multiple-risk tradeoff framework and through investor-defined objective weights. The utilization and performance of these models are evaluated through computational experiments using real-world stock market data from two distinct financial markets: the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), representing a mature and developed market, and the Saudi Tadawul market, representing an emerging market. The comparative analysis evaluates each portfolio using downside risk, probability of loss, largest loss magnitude, and portfolio return, allowing the proposed models to be examined across different market structures, risk-return environments, and investor preferences. In addition to the historical average-based optimization framework, this dissertation develops a hybrid forecasting and optimization methodology for portfolio selection. Instead of relying solely on historical average returns, several forecasting methods, including Weighted Moving Average, Linear Regression, Multilayer Perceptron, Gaussian Processes, and Support Vector Machines, are used to forecast future stock returns. These forecasted returns are incorporated into the proposed optimization models and compared with the traditional historical average-based approach through a rolling out-of-sample simulation. This framework provides a practical assessment of how forecast-based return estimates affect portfolio allocation decisions and realized portfolio performance. The computational results demonstrate that the proposed models generate distinct risk-return profiles and provide flexible, investor-oriented portfolio structures that accommodate different risk preferences and return objectives.11 0Item Restricted Reflection-Based MM-Wave Array Pattern (RMAP) Measurement System(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Aldawsari, Abdulhadi; Adams, JacobThe transition toward millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies in 5G and 6G architectures has introduced significant complexities to traditional antenna metrology paradigms. As modern phased arrays scale in complexity, the traditional reliance on mechanical scanning and discrete spatial sampling for pattern measurement has become a prohibitive bottleneck, both in terms of temporal throughput and physical facility overhead. This research pioneers the reflection-based rapid mmWave array pattern (RMAP) system, a deterministic metrology framework that decouples measurement throughput from traditional mechanical constraints. By utilizing a deterministic, reflection-based framework, the RMAP architecture maps the complex radiation profile of an antenna under test (AUT) onto a stationary uniform linear array (ULA) positioned at the focal point of an elliptical reflector. A rigorous analytical investigation into the system's temporal dynamics reveals that while conventional single-probe and multi-probe systems are mathematically bound by mechanical scaling laws, the RMAP architecture achieves a near-constant throughput scaling. This allows for the rapid characterization of high-density beam states in a timeframe governed by electronic acquisition speeds rather than the latencies of physical rotation. Furthermore, this dissertation explores the spatial scaling laws governing anechoic environments. It identifies a fundamental ``mechanical floor'' in traditional facility design, where the footprint of robotic gantries and structural overhead prevents further miniaturization. The RMAP system circumvents this floor by scaling directly with the electromagnetic boundary, enabling a substantial reduction in the total facility footprint required for high-frequency hardware verification. The underlying methodology is rigorously validated through high-fidelity, full-wave electromagnetic simulations within a transient Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) framework. This numerical study serves to establish the fundamental viability of the RMAP architecture, proving that the theoretical model holds under realistic electromagnetic conditions. Furthermore, the framework assesses the system's robustness against practical constraints, such as structural scattering and surface roughness, to ensure reconstruction fidelity.10 0Item Restricted Investigating the Efficiency of InGaN p‑n‑p‑n Homojunction Solar Cells(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alhejji, Moath; Ware, MorganIndium gallium nitride (InGaN) materials have shown significant potential for photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications due to their excellent optical and electrical properties. The unique direct bandgap, strong optical absorption, thermal stability, and high radiation resistance make InGaN alloys particularly promising for high performance solar cells. One of the most important advantages of InGaN is its tunable bandgap, which ranges from 0.7 eV for InN to 3.4 eV for GaN. This wide bandgap range enables absorption across a broad portion of the solar spectrum, extending from infrared to ultraviolet. Despite these advantages, the power conversion efficiency of conventional single p-n junction solar cells remains restricted by the Shockley limit. To overcome this limitation, alternative device structures have been proposed, including the p1-n1-p2-n2 homojunction structure, which introduces multiple junctions and internal electric fields that enhance carrier separation and reduces recombination losses, thereby enabling efficiency improvements beyond the Shockley limit. This work investigated the potential of a InGaN homojunction solar cell based on the p1 n1-p2-n2 structure as a pathway toward achieving power conversion efficiency beyond those attainable with conventional single p-n junction devices. Numerical simulations were performed using nextnano++ to systematically analyze the electrical and optical behavior of the proposed structure. The study examined the effects of varying doping concentrations, from uniform doping to modifying the second or third layers, adjusting the thickness of the second or third layers, applying light doping, modifying the top layer thickness, and observing the effects of incident light intensity on the p1-n1-p2-n2 structure. The impact of these parameters on open circuit voltage (Voc), short circuit current density (Jsc), fill factor (FF), and overall efficiency (𝜂) were evaluated through current-voltage characteristics and energy band diagram analysis. The results show that, under uniform doping of 6.5E+16 cm-3, the p1-n1-p2-n2 homojunction structure achieves an efficiency of 32.91%, representing an improvement of approximately 7% compared with p-n junction’s 25.31% efficiency [1]. The doping concentration of 6.5E+16 cm-3 was selected as the standard for experiment. A slight increase in efficiency to 33.67% was observed after varying the thickness of the second layer to 750 nm. Further enhancements in efficiency are achieved through structural optimization, where variations in the top layer thickness yield efficiency approaching 40% with a thickness of 30 nm. Most notably, as we increase the third layer thickness to 180 nm, it results in a sharp turn on behavior in the I-V characteristics, near unity fill factor and a maximum demonstrated efficiency of 57%, indicating a transition from conventional photovoltaic operation to a bistable, thyristor like switching device. Under varying illumination levels, the optimum efficiency of 33.85% is achieved at an intensity of 6 suns, with standard uniform doping of 6.5E+16 cm-3 and fixed layer thicknesses. These results show the p1-n1-p2-n2 structure is a promising pathway for improving efficiency beyond that of a single p-n junction solar cell. They also provide a better insight into how internal electric fields across three junctions enhance device performance.14 0Item Unknown AI-Related Harm in Saudi Private Law(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Aldhowayan, Mansour; Li, ShuThis thesis examines whether Saudi private law can adequately address harm caused by autonomous and opaque artificial intelligence systems. It argues that AI-related harm may create a structural compensation gap where victims cannot easily identify a responsible actor, prove fault, or establish causation under ordinary liability rules. Using EU AI governance and product-liability frameworks as a functional benchmark, the thesis shows the limits of individualised liability in responding to such harm. It then argues that Sharia principles, particularly harm removal and benefit-based burden allocation, can justify supplementary collective redress under Saudi private law. The thesis proposes a dual-track model combining a limited zakat- based safety net with a broader state-backed or industry-funded compensation mechanism.3 0Item Unknown Theory and Modeling of Electron Transport in Molecular-Scale Condensed Matter(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alzanbaqi, Mohammed; Lambert, Colin; Ismael, AliInvestigating the electron transport characteristics of molecular junctions, which consist of one or more molecules acting as the scattering region linked to metallic electrodes, is essential for applications at the nano- and molecular scale applications. The focus of this thesis is on the mechano-electrical sensitivity of a particular type of two-terminal molecular junction formed from gold electrodes, creating gold-molecule-gold structures. The theoretical methods discussed in Chapters 2 and 3 are employed to investigate the mechano-electrical sensitivity of molecular junctions. Chapter 2 provides an introduction to density functional theory (DFT) and Chapter 3 presents an overview of transport theory, based on a Green's function formalism. Chapter 4 studies the mechano-electrical sensitivity of the alkyl thiol (𝐶𝑛𝑆) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). The studied structures are formed from 𝐶6𝑆, 𝐶8𝑆 and 𝐶10𝑆, named thiol-terminated asymmetric chains, with and without a graphene sheet connected to gold electrodes. This study reveals how the effect of a strain-induced tilt angle (𝜃) can increase the gauge factor, which is a measure of the percentage change in electrical conductance per unit strain. Chapter 5 studies the mechano-electrical sensitivity by demonstrating how the penetration (𝑃) of a probe into the SAM can increase the gauge factor. This study is carried out on the same molecules, but in the absence of a graphene sheet, because the latter would protect the SAMs from probe penetration. Lastly, Chapter 6 provides the conclusion of this thesis and suggestions for future work.10 0Item Unknown Analyzing Financial Capital Flows : Italian Investments in Saudi Arabia under Vision 2030(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alamri, Montaha Abdulhadi; Piergiorgio, ValnteThis research examines how Italian investments contribute to Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation under Vision 2030 and how foreign capital supports economic diversification and sustainable growth. The motivation behind this research is that most studies discussing Saudi-Italian relations focus on trade or political cooperation. However, there is limited research that analyzes the financial aspects of Italian investments and their contribution to Vision 2030. Therefore, this study aims to analyze Italian investments in Saudi Arabia, examine the role of the Public Investment Fund, and evaluate the impact of these investments on economic diversification and non-oil growth18 0Item Unknown Developing a Curatorial Practice Around Scent, Power, and the Pre-Cognitive(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Aldihbashi, Sarah; Vera, MeySarah Aldihbashi is a London-based curator whose practice centres on the politics of sensory experience and invisible systems of control. Her work examines how institutions, governments, and commercial spaces use atmosphere, scent, and environment to condition behaviour and shape perception below the threshold of conscious awareness, and how curatorial practice can make those mechanisms legible. Drawing on research into olfaction, political theory, and new materialism, her practice moves between two registers: attending to the ambient systems that act on bodies without consent, and creating conditions in which those systems become suddenly, uncomfortably present to the viewer. She is interested in the full range of contexts in which this kind of invisible conditioning operates, from retail environments that deploy scent to extend dwell time and increase spending, to healthcare settings that use atmospheric management to produce compliance, to the broader political and governmental uses of sensory manipulation to shape populations. Her practice is committed to treating the viewer’s body as a political site rather than a passive recipient. The exhibitions and projects she develops are designed to create encounters in which the mechanisms of control that ordinarily remain below awareness are made physical, felt, and impossible to look away from. This is not critique at a distance but an attempt to produce the conditions for genuine reckoning with what has been done to us, and what continues to be done, without our knowledge or consent.2 0Item Restricted تأثير القيادة الملهمة على تعزيز الرشاقة الاستراتيجية لدى قيادات مستشفى البكيرية العام بالقصيم(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) يسن, مصطفى; صالح الحربيهدف البحث الى التعرف على تأثير القيادة الملهمة على تعزيز الرشاقة الاستراتيجية من خلال دراسة حالة قيادات مستشفى البكيرية العام بالقصيم، ومن خلال إتباع المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، وتحليل بيانات قوائم الاستبيان باستخدام برنامج SPSS على عينة عشوائية مكونة من 333 مفردة من قيادات مستشفى البكيرية العام بالقصيم. توصل الباحث إلى وجود توصل الباحث الى وجود تأثير معنوي للقيادة الملهمة (بأبعادها المختلفة) على تعزيز الرشاقة الاستراتيجية (بأبعادها المختلفة) لدى قيادات مستشفى البكيرية العام بالقصيم في المملكة العربية السعودية، كما توصل الباحث الى عدم وجود اختلاف معنوي بين إجابات عينة البحث حول القيادة الملهمة (بأبعادها المختلفة) لدى قيادات مستشفى البكيرية العام بالقصيم تعزي إلى الخصائص الديموغرافية (النوع- العمر– المستوى التعليمي– التخصص الوظيفي- المستوى الإداري- مدة الخبرة )، وتوصل الباحث أيضا الى عدم وجود اختلاف معنوي بين إجابات عينة البحث حول الرشاقة الاستراتيجية (بأبعادها المختلفة) لدى قيادات مستشفى البكيرية العام بالقصيم تعزي إلى الخصائص الديموغرافية (النوع-العمر- المستوى التعليمي – التخصص الوظيفي – المستوى الإداري-مدة الخبرة ). وأوصى الباحث السادة المسئولين في مستشفى البكيرية العام بالقصيم ضرورة الاهتمام بتطبيق ممارسات القيادة الملهمة نظرا لأن جميع أبعادها تؤثر في تحقيق الرشاقة التنظيمية، كما أوصى الباحث السادة المسئولين في مستشفى البكيرية العام بالقصيم ضرورة الاهتمام بالفروق بين العاملين حول حول تطبيق ممارسات القيادة الملهمة، وأوصى الباحث أيضا السادة المسئولين في مستشفى البكيرية العام بالقصيم ضرورة الاهتمام بالفروق بين العاملين حول حول تعزيز ممارسات الرشاقة الاستراتيجية.5 0