Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Addressing risk, challenges, and solutions in Megaprojects: A case study of Neom Smart City in Saudi Arabia(leeds beckett university, 2024) Alluqmani, Waleed Salem; Omotayo, TemitopeNeom Smart City is designed as a high-tech city with sustainable living and renewable energy sources such as solar power and autonomous transportation systems. The City aims to become an attractive destination for talents and investment Mega Projects are more common in the 21st century due to global population growth, urbanisation, and technological innovation that requires the establishment of big projects. The aim of this research is to focus on risks, challenges, and solutions that may occur at the Neom Smart City project in KSA, and provide insights for the effective management of megaprojects. A positivist philosophy and a deductive research approach was used in this research. The overarching methodology was quantitative. The data-gathering procedure involved questionnaire instruments. The sample involved twenty participants including project managers, while the data analysis technique used was descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS and crucial ethical considerations were confidentiality and informed consent. Descriptive analysis of the findings have revealed that the participants perceived financial risks to be the most important concerns, followed by legal and construction risks. The result from the study also shows poor planning, political failures, and the lack of high-performing teams were the most significant contributor to the failure of megaprojects. The inferential statistics have revealed that there is a significant positive correlation between design risks and legal risks, contractual risks, construction risks and operational management risks. Financial risks are linked to construction risks, political risks, and leadership risks. Empirically, financial risks are influenced by contractual risks, poor leadership, and poor planning. The outcomes also suggest that stakeholder collaboration has a statistically significant impact on construction risks.7 0Item Restricted ASDLAF: An Innovative Framework for Adopting Learning Applications for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia(University of Sussex, 2024) Almazni, Yahya; Natalia, BeloffBackground: Learning tools have been recognized as an effective approach to enhance the skills of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who face interaction, social and communication challenges. Relevant studies highlight that most of the ASD learning applications (LAs) are designed for children, but few investigate tools designed specifically for adults. Additionally, studies show that many applications are developed for the Western users which lack Arabic language support. Saudi Vision 2030 emphasises enhancing the quality of life including through digital transformation, which presents a promising opportunity to address the discussed challenges by investigating the factors that impact the adoption of ASD LAs. Aims and Objectives: The study aims at investigating the intention of the Saudi adults with ASD to use LAs by exploring the current challenges and barriers they face and identifying the most influential factors that impact the adoption of ASD LAs. These factors focus on three elements––technological, cultural and pedagogical which shape the ASD users’ engagement with LAs. To achieve this, the ASDLAF framework was developed to evaluate the 16 factors to assess the unique needs of ASD individuals. The thesis also captures the perspectives of the ASD caregivers who work closely with this population. Methods: This study employs a mixed-methods approach combining the quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews) methods. In the quantitative phase, a structured survey was distributed among ASD individuals gathering date from 412 respondents. Prior to the analysis, the validity and reliability of the survey instrument were assessed using SPSS software to ensure accurate analysis results. The descriptive analysis was conducted to provide an overview of the data gathered, which was followed by conducting the statistical analysis, aiming at assessing the significance of each factor within the ASDLAF framework. After that, 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with ASD caregivers and experts to understand their perspectives into the adoption of ASD LAs. By integrating quantitative and qualitative data, the thesis was able to provide valuable recommendation and insights. Results: The results of this study reveal that ASD LAs are in their infancy within the Saudi context, though a significant intention to adopt exists among ASD individuals. The findings also provide insights into the factors that most influence LAs adoption by highlighting the key aspects such as usability, accessibility, privacy and motivation, which positively impact the adoption intention. Recommendations based on these insights aim to guide LA developers and caregivers in designing and assessing technological tools. Additionally, they offer valuable insights for policymakers focused on enhancing the quality of life of ASD individuals.12 0Item Restricted The Resource Curse, Religious Practices and Household Behaviour: Evidence from Petroleum-rich & Selected Islamic Countries(University of Sussex, 2024) Alghanmi, Amal; Reilly, BarryThis thesis focuses on two main topics. The first relates to the resource curse, and the second is linked to the seasonality of prices during Ramadan. The first chapter examines whether oil revenues influence demographic outcomes in oil exporting countries with weak institutional quality, emphasizing the role of institutional quality as a mechanism. Our hypothesis is that an abundance of oil revenues in a weakly institutionalized country adversely impacts demographic outcomes through inadequate provision of public health services. Our dataset covers 2000-2017, allowing us to test this hypothesis using a large country panel data. Weak support is found for our hypothesis regarding infant mortality using a country specific fixed effects estimation approach. Nevertheless, oil wealth has a very mild impact on other demographic indicators in countries with weak governance. The second chapter explores the seasonal dynamics of local consumer prices with religious traditions. Specifically, this paper examines how Ramadan affects seasonal food prices. The case study in this chapter is based on the Kingdom of Saudi i Arabia since it is the centre of Islam. Ramadan is the ninth month in the Hijri calendar, and it is a month of fasting from sunrise to sunset for healthy Muslims. As a result, the daily meal schedule, frequency, and composition of meals change. It is hypothesized that Ramadan will impact food and non-food demand in Saudi Arabia during that month. This chapter analyses data for 24 food items, 8 non-food items, and 7 paid services. By treating seasonal effects deterministically, we can estimate the effect of Ramadan on commodities prices using OLS. We measure the intensity of Ramadan using both Hijri and Gregorian calendars. Results emphasize the unique nature of consumer behaviour during Ramadan. The third chapter extends the second but with a broader emphasis including more countries. In this chapter, we assess Ramadan's impact on the rise of food prices locally and globally. Unlike other price seasonality studies focusing on one commodity globally, this study analyses global market seasonality across a broad range of commodities. Furthermore, a major objective of this study is to investigate how Ramadan affects local market prices in selected Asian and African countries with diverse religious affiliations. We hypothesize that Ramadan will positively affect the prices of food commodities, and the extent of the impacts depends on the nature of the local and global markets. Our analysis shows that Ramadan has no long-term impact on global commodity prices. When positive Ramadan effects are detected locally, their magnitude is found to be very modest, thus suggesting Ramadan effects are not systematically present in local market commodity prices.11 0Item Restricted The Compensatory Principles and Provisions in Relation to Medical Harm in Saudi Arabia(University of Sussex, 2024) Alotaibi,Gadah; Davies, Mark; Ghouri, Ahmad; Griffiths, DanielleBasing its legal system on Islamic law, the prevailing view in Saudi Arabia is that the provision of healthcare is an obligation of the state. For this obligation to be fulfilled, it is essential that the compensation process for medical harm and negligence is fair and transparent. However, defects exist in the contemporary medical compensation system in Saudi Arabia, and these have not previously been explored. Consequently, this thesis investigates the Saudi compensation system for medical harm and negligence, with a view to proposing legal and procedural reforms that will ensure fair compensation. To achieve this goal, the thesis analyses the principles of compensation in Islamic theory through an in-depth analysis of the provisions of the Quran, Hadith, and existing literature. In addition, the thesis analyses and critiques the findings of a qualitative empirical study, wherein semi-structured interviews were conducted with doctors and lawyers in Saudi Arabia to examine the compensation system in practice. The findings reveal defects arising from the practical application of the compensation system, due to the ambiguity of the medical negligence concept, the rate of compensation, and the current timescales and procedures for litigation. Consequently, improvements to the Saudi compensation system are recommended. Specifically, based on the research results, Article 34 of the Saudi compensation law should indicate the type of harm covered under the compensation system, and its Article 40 should propose the timeline and procedures for the compensation process.11 0Item Restricted Evolución y cambios en la producción de los contenidos digitales gubernamentales: el caso de la comunicación pública e institucional en Arabia Saudí(Complutense Madrid University, 2024-10-18) Alnajrani, Hasan Mansour A; Mateo, Raquel Caerols; Lorenzo, Francisco Cabezueloتدرس هذه الأطروحة التطور والتغيرات في إنتاج المحتوى الرقمي الحكومي، مع الإشارة بشكل خاص إلى حالة الاتصالات العامة والمؤسسية في المملكة العربية السعودية، وذلك باستخدام أساليب جمع البيانات. ومن أشهر الجامعات التي تدعمها الحكومة السعودية الجامعة الإسلامية التي تضم ما يقرب من 85% من طلابها من خارج المملكة. وقد تم تطبيق أساليب تحليل المحتوى الرقمي على هذه الجامعة. وقد تم الحصول على نتائج سلسلة من المقابلات مع مديري ستة من مديري إدارات الاتصال في المؤسسات الحكومية وشبه الحكومية السعودية، وأخيراً تم إعداد استبيان شارك فيه 111 مستجيباً. كان المحور الرئيسي لهذه الدراسة هو إنتاج المحتوى الرقمي داخل إدارات الاتصال في المؤسسات الحكومية في المملكة العربية السعودية في سياق ظهور منصات التواصل الاجتماعي. وتواجه الحكومات تحدياً يتمثل في تصميم محتوى رقمي يتكيف مع احتياجات المواطنين نتيجة لتلك المنصات. فحوالي سبعين في المئة من السعوديين هم دون سن الثلاثين من العمر، ولهذا السبب تحتاج الحكومة إلى تطوير إدارات الاتصال والإعلام من أجل تقديم محتوى يتوافق مع المستخدمين بعيداً عن المحتوى الرسمي والبيروقراطي. وبالإضافة إلى استكشاف العوامل المؤثرة في إنتاج المحتوى الرقمي في العصر الرقمي، تحدد هذه الأطروحة الحلول التي يمكن أن تساعد الحكومات في تلبية احتياجات المواطنين الراغبين في معرفة الخدمات الحكومية وتوفير المعلومات المفيدة للمساهمة في زيادة المعرفة والحد من نشر المعلومات الخاطئة. وقد تم تقسيمها إلى قسمين رئيسيين لغرض التحليل والمناقشة. أولاً، العوامل الداخلية التي أدت إلى ثلاثة عوامل رئيسية: نقص الكتّاب المحترفين، وعدم وجود خطة لإنتاج المحتوى الرقمي، وإنتاج المحتوى الرقمي باستخدام الذكاء الاصطناعي. ثانياً، كانت هناك عوامل خارجية أدت أيضاً إلى ثلاثة مخاوف رئيسية: الرؤى الحكومية، والتوظيف والتدريب، وفهم القادة لدور الإعلام. في هذه الأطروحة، أزعم أن إنتاج المحتوى الرقمي في الحكومة يحتاج إلى تطوير مستمر من أجل تلبية متطلبات المواطنين من المعلومات، خاصة في ظل ظهور تطبيقات جديدة للإعلام الرقمي. لذلك، تجادل الأطروحة أنه في سياق الحكومات في العصر الرقمي، نحتاج إلى التفكير بشكل مختلف حول ما يشكل إنتاج المحتوى الرقمي.9 0Item Restricted The Impact on Women’s Citizenship in the context of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030(University College London, 2024) AlOwain, Haifa; Walker, JulianThe dissertation examins the concept of Inclusive Citizenship and develops an analytical framework based on it, reviews post-Vision 2030 changes in policies, and analyzes them through the lens of the framework to understand their impact of women’s citizenship practices as the case study, providing a lens through which to explore broader issues of citizenship and participation.21 0Item Restricted The Enforcement of Saudi Securities Fraud Law: A Critical Analysis in Light of the United States and United Kingdom Experiences(University of Leeds, 2024) Almedlej, Abdullah Mohammed A; Steven Montagu-Cairns, Andrew Campbell andThe enforcement of securities fraud is a significant challenge for governments around the globe. Securities fraud manifested through market manipulation and insider trading is inherently complex, and poses difficulties for legislators, who struggle to provide clear legal definitions of the term, and prosecutors looking to assert criminal liability. Moreover, the rapid evolution of fraudulent market practices, fuelled by the swift advancement of technology, has compelled governments to continually develop enforcement strategies. The determination of whether a violation constitutes civil or criminal liability shapes the basis of civil enforcement and criminal prosecution. Regulatory bodies must be empowered to effectively respond to securities fraud cases through various enforcement mechanisms. Indeed, Saudi Arabia has been progressively modernising its legal system and developing its financial sector through Vision 2030. The US securities fraud regime and its enforcement systems, conducted through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which was established following the Great Crash of 1929, have considerably influenced and been adapted by other jurisdictions. The 2007–2008 financial crisis spurred more effective responses to securities fraud in both the US and UK. Notably, this thesis is the first academic work to thoroughly examine the enforcement of Saudi securities fraud law. This thesis aims to evaluate the enforcement regime of Saudi securities fraud by drawing lessons from US and UK jurisdictions. This study focuses on addressing the enforcement of market manipulation and insider trading laws. It also discusses the civil and criminal enforcement mechanisms available to regulatory bodies. The extensive experience of the US and UK market frameworks and the influence of their securities law legislation on the drafting of the Saudi Capital Market Law (CML) in 2003 indicate valuable recommendations for reforming the Saudi securities fraud regime and enhancing the enforcement function of the Capital Market Authority (CMA).30 0Item Restricted The Relationship between Child Maltreatment, Religiosity, and Adult-onset Anxiety and Depressive Disorders among Participants in the Saudi National Mental Health Survey (SNMHS)(University of Washington, 2024) Gadi, Ghadah; Sharif, MienahThis dissertation explores the interrelationships among childhood maltreatment (CM), religiosity, and adult-onset depressive and anxiety disorders using data from the Saudi National Mental Health Survey (SNMHS). It addresses whether parental religiosity is associated with CM and differs by gender, the influence of CM on adult religiosity and its gender-dependence, and the association between CM and adult-onset anxiety and depressive disorders with religiosity as a moderating factor. The first study (Chapter 2) investigates the correlation between parental religiosity and CM, finding no overall significant association but a significant protective effect against CM, particularly physical abuse, among males. The second study (chapter 3) explores the impact of CM on adult religiosity, revealing no significant association or gender differences. The third study (Chapter 4) examines the link between CM and adult-onset anxiety and depressive disorders, with religiosity moderating these effects. Sexual abuse significantly increases the risk of depressive disorders, while physical abuse increases anxiety disorder risk. Seeking religious comfort moderates these associations. In conclusion, this dissertation highlights that parental religiosity generally protects against CM, especially physical abuse among males, while CM does not influence adult religiosity. CM is associated with higher risks of mental health disorders, with religious coping moderating these effects. The findings emphasize the need for culturally tailored interventions in Saudi Arabia to promote healthy religious parenting, encourage seeking professional help, and address cultural and gender dynamics influencing CM experiences and mental health outcomes.20 0Item Restricted EVENT OPERATION MANAGEMENT FOR HIKING SPORTS ACTIVITIES IN AL-ULA SAUDI ARABIA(Leeds Beckett University, 2024-12-17) Alanazi, Meshal; Dan, LomaxThis research aims to explore the role of event operation management in organising hiking sports activities in the Al-Ula area within Saudi Arabia. This is done through focusing on the challenges, responsibilities and innovative strategies employed by event managers. The study adopts a qualitative approach within an interpretive paradigm by using a case study strategy to understand the unique context of Al-Ula. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six event operation managers experienced in managing outdoor adventure activities and thematic analysis was employed to identify key themes from the qualitative data. The findings reveal that successful event operation management for hiking activities hinges on comprehensive planning, effective use of technology, collaboration with local experts and balancing sustainability with participant safety and engagement. Key responsibilities identified include efficient resource allocation, proactive risk management and maintaining participant safety. Major challenges involve logistical difficulties in remote areas, unpredictable environmental conditions and managing diverse participant needs. Innovative strategies such as GPS tracking as well as utilising sustainable materials and local partnerships were highlighted as critical for ensuring smooth and interruption-free hiking events. The study proposes a conceptual framework for adaptive event management for outdoor sports which integrates dynamic risk management, sustainable practices, technology and local expertise to enhance both operational efficiency and participant satisfaction. One main limitation of the research is its narrow geographical scope which is considering solely on hiking activities in Al- Ula. This would limit the generalisability of findings to other locations or types of events. Future research should consider expanding the scope to include diverse geographical areas and applying a mixed-methods approach to further validate the findings. The results contribute to the understanding of effective event management practices in outdoor settings mainly in challenging environments like Al-Ula17 0Item Restricted Measuring patient experience of primary care and capturing patients’ perceptions of the primary care reforms in Saudi Arabia(University of Exeter, 2024) Mubarky, Abdullah; Pitchforth, Emma; Hulme, Claire; Valderas, Jose MBackground: Primary care (PC) is the backbone of most health systems around the world. In Saudi Arabia, the health system is reforming as part of the country Vision 2030 and Health Transformation Strategy. One of the principal objectives of this reform is to build a new, strong PC system to attract patients and enhance preventive care. PC will play a significant role within this transformation strategy, which calls for PC improvement in terms of facilities, services, and technology. The patient is a primary recipient and profoundly impacted by these reforms. Therefore, patient experience is essential for guiding and improving the health reform plans in Saudi primary care. Aim: This study aims to assess patient experience with PC and capture patients’ perceptions of the PC reforms in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Three pieces of work were conducted sequentially and integrated to answer the research question and achieve the study's objectives. The first was a scoping review conducted in January 2021 and updated in September 2023 that reviewed the existing instruments designed to measure patient experience in primary care globally for identifying the main domains of patients’ experiences with PC, and factors affecting those experiences. Eighty five papers were extracted and synthesised. The second piece of work was a series of eleven focus groups conducted in January/February 2022 with 44 PC patients to develop an in-depth understanding of the key issues related to PC reform in Saudi Arabia. The final piece of work was the development and implementation of a patient survey to measure patient experience with primary care and capture patients’ perceptions of the primary care reform in Saudi Arabia. The survey then distributed to PC patients. Five hundred and ninety nine individuals responded between December 2022 and February 2023. 2 Findings: Overall, there was a positive experience of accessibility to Primary Care Centres (PCCs) in Saudi Arabia. The majority of respondents expressed positive continuity of care, as they were able to receive care from their preferred primary care clinician, albeit with less continuity in their relationship with the same physician. Regarding coordination, the general quality of referrals to other healthcare providers seems to be commendable. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement in the feedback provided by other healthcare providers to PCC's physicians. Moreover, patients perceive the comprehensiveness of services provided to them in a positive manner, whereas the availability of services received a comparatively less positive rating from the respondents. The digital appointment system, known as Mawid, and the Wasfaty platform appear to be functioning effectively, resulting in a positive outcome. Two areas that warrant further attention are dental services and digital literacy, specifically in regards to Mawid. Conclusion: The study indicates that overall patient have positive experiences of primary care centres in Saudi Arabia but key areas for improvement remain. The methods developed and findings can inform future monitoring of patient experience as part of ongoing healthcare reforms.23 0