Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://drepo.sdl.edu.sa/handle/20.500.14154/10
Browse
8962 results
Search Results
Item Restricted Sustaining Fire Safety: A Comprehensive Framework for the Continuous Monitoring and Control of Building Fire Safety Measures(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Aldossary, Mubarak Saad; Yacine, RezguiBuilding fires remain a critical challenge in the built environment, resulting in substantial loss of life, injury, and property damage worldwide despite decades of advancements in fire safety engineering, regulation, and technology. This persistent problem is not due to the absence of technical solutions, but rather the failure to sustain, adapt, and integrate fire safety measures throughout the operational life of buildings. The degradation of compliance, fragmented responsibilities, policy inconsistencies, and limited digital adoption contribute to a situation where buildings may appear compliant at design but become unsafe in practice. This thesis develops, validates, and refines a comprehensive Fire Safety Sustainability Framework (FSSF) for the continuous monitoring, control, and assessment of fire safety measures across the building life. The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, beginning with a systematic and integrative literature review to identify current practices, limitations, and knowledge gaps. Qualitative expert interviews further explore operational challenges and digital opportunities in the field of building fire safety. The resulting findings inform the design of the FSSF, which is aligned with international codes, standards, and contemporary digital infrastructure. The framework is subjected to rigorous validation through a two-round Delphi consultation with industry experts, followed by applied testing in operational buildings to examine the practicality, clarity, and usability of the validated framework dimensions and criteria. This combined validation approach ensures that the framework is both conceptually robust and operationally applicable across diverse building types and contexts. Key innovations include the explicit integration of digital tools such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), IoT sensors, and digital twins into the framework, supporting structured documentation, continuous monitoring, and informed decision-making throughout building operation. The validated FSSF offers a practical, scalable solution for sustaining fire safety performance, providing measurable indicators and structured guidance for regulators, facility managers, and policymakers. The findings contribute to theory, professional practice, and policy, advancing the shift from static compliance toward sustained fire safety management in the built environment.6 0Item Restricted Architecture Beyond Shelter: A Critical Study of BIPV as a Redefinition of Facades in Saudi Arabia(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Ainousah, Esraa Adel; Kerr, JenniferThis thesis critically investigates Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) as both an energy system and an architectural expression in the Saudi Arabian context. While global research has primarily addressed technical performance, gaps remain in cultural integration and design-led approaches, especially in hot-arid regions. Adopting a qualitative methodology, the study combines architectural theory with three case studies: NEOM as a system-scale model of renewable urbanism, the NESR Oilfield Research and Innovation (NORI) Center in Dhahran, and the Giftedness & Creativity Center at King Faisal University in Al-Ahsa. These cases reveal how BIPV operates across multiple registers: as infrastructure, as a source of technical performance, and as a medium of symbolic expression. Findings highlight both opportunities and constraints. BIPV can deliver significant energy yield and contribute to sustainability credentials, but its ecological and cultural narratives are complicated by embodied energy, reliance on imports, and questions of local identity. Through the lenses of Hasan Fathy’s vernacular wisdom, Jane Bennett’s material agency, and Bill Dunster’s symbolic aesthetics, the study argues that BIPV façades in Saudi Arabia cannot be evaluated by efficiency alone. Their success depends on whether they can be adapted to resonate with local culture and architecture while advancing national sustainability goals.7 0Item Restricted An Exploratory Study on the Experience of Gender Inequality in the University in Saudi Arabia(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) ALsharif, Bashayr Nasser; Karunanayake, GeethaSaudi Arabia, a country with strong religious and cultural norms, is seen as lagging in terms of addressing gender equality issues. Many women still do not enter the workplace due to the patriarchal expectation that they should stay in the home. Women’s employment situations and opportunities within Saudi Arabia have been investigated by several researchers. This research is deeply rooted in the necessity to comprehend the nature and impact of gender inequality on women's employment in Saudi Arabia. It aims to identify the barriers women face in achieving success and to explore how they experience limitations shaped by prevailing perceptions of gender differences. Within this context, this research aims to explore how female academics at Red Sea University in Saudi Arabia experience the effects of gender inequality, especially regarding career leadership in workplaces, and to explore how women’s agency interpenetrate with diverse forms of structures. This research incorporates the philosophy and strategy of critical feminist theory. A qualitative research methodology was employed, which involved collecting data through semi-structured interviews. The data analysis used a narrative approach that aligned with the feminist perspective to identify key issues of inequality and determine how female academics face challenges and deploy female agency as a coping mechanism. The present study contributes to the existing literature by revealing the experiences of Saudi Arabian females in the academic workplace and presenting how gender inequality has affected their leadership careers. My findings reveal that Sudi women navigate a layered and multifaceted structure of constraints and opportunities. The two-identity strategy that emerges from my data corresponds to the simultaneous existence of projective, practical–evaluative and iterative forms of agency (Emirbayer & Mische’s,1998) These findings will be useful for those who are interested in feminist issues, managers and policymakers who contribute to equality policies and fair practises in academic institutions and younger women planning to pursue careers will also add to the newly growing body of work that seeks to determine the nature and value of feminist agency in modern society by making a point-in-time record of this agent for change, including how it is affecting the way women seek to negotiate obstacles to success that are caused by gender inequality.4 0Item Restricted Efficient Query Repair for Aggregate Constraints(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Algarni, Shatha Saad; Adriane, ChapmanIn many real-world scenarios, query results must satisfy domain-specific constraints such as fairness or financial stability. For example, selecting interview candidates based on their qualifications may require that at least a given percentage be female, or a report on purchase costs may need to ensure the average cost stays below a liability threshold. These requirements can be expressed as constraints over an arithmetic combination of aggregates evaluated on the result of the query. This thesis studies how to repair a query to fulfill such constraints by modifying the filter predicates of the query. These constraints are non monotone and more complex than those considered in prior work, such as query based explanations for missing answers or fairness enforcement in query results. The constraints considered in this thesis invalidate many existing optimizations considered in prior work. The work in this thesis introduces a novel query repair technique that computes the top-k candidate repairs with respect to their distance to the user query. These techniques leverage materialization and data clustering to avoid unnecessary computation. It also exploits bounds on sets of candidate solutions and interval arithmetic to efficiently prune the search space. Experimental evaluation on real-world and benchmark datasets shows that the proposed pruning technique significantly outperforms baselines that consider a single candidate at a time.16 0Item Embargo NEOM - Lining Up a New Smart City(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alqasem, Abdulaziz; Smith, RichardNEOM, a US$500 billion megaproject under development in Saudi Arabia and a flagship of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, proposes a new model of urbanism powered entirely by renewable energy, governed through AI-driven systems, and anchored by The Line, a 170-kilometre linear city designed to eliminate car dependency, reduce carbon emissions, and preserve 95% of its surrounding natural environment. This study examines how the planning of the NEOM urban area draws upon lessons from other established smart cities worldwide, with an emphasis on NEOM’s planning motivations, environmental strategies, and its distinctive linear spatial logic. Boyd Cohen's Smart City Wheel is used as a diagnostic framework to assess NEOM’s alignment with established smart city dimensions, while the lens of smart and cognitive urbanism offers insight into the project’s symbolic, technological, and strategic dimensions. A qualitative interpretive case study methodology guided the research during NEOM’s construction, gaining empirical insights into NEOM’s formative planning and early construction stages. Primary data was collected through 39 semi-structured interviews with high-level internal stakeholders, including NEOM planners, consultants, and experts, and external participants such as urban scholars, sustainability professionals, and policy advisors. These insights are supported by documentary analysis and in-depth engagement with planning reports and media sources. The findings reveal that NEOM selectively integrates global best practices while extending them through novel frameworks, such as AI urbanism, Zero Gravity Urbanism, and cognitive dimensions. While the project introduces ambitious innovations in renewable energy systems, vertical spatial design, and AI-enhanced service delivery, it remains in an early experimental phase. At this stage, NEOM cannot yet be considered a fully replicable model, but it embodies a potential future paradigm marked by conceptual boldness and global significance. The study concludes by identifying key challenges for translating NEOM’s ambitious vision into a viable and replicable model, particularly in terms of inclusive governance, environmental resilience, technological feasibility, and the uniqueness of NEOM’s political and geographical context. Finally, recommendations for future research are suggested as NEOM continues to be built, specifically the need for longitudinal monitoring and comparative studies to evaluate and contextualise its evolving progress and replicability.8 0Item Restricted Understanding Knowledge Workers’ Perspectives on Knowledge Exchange Activities in the Context of Saudi Higher Education Institutions(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alselmi, Fawziah; Harrison, Neil; Cole, SarahThere is limited evidence on how Saudi academics engage in KE activities and how they understand and describe these engagements. This study seeks to address a gap in extant understanding by exploring the nature of KE within Saudi public universities, generating an in-depth understanding of KE processes and their associated activities within academic roles. This research explores the main factors influencing academic engagement in these activities and their perspectives on the role of university leaders and managers in KE activities. The study was conducted within an interpretive paradigm, using a multiple-case study design to collect data on KE practice in three Saudi public universities. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 19 Saudi academics as the primary research method. Documents related to KE projects and programmes on university websites, as well as initiatives from the Saudi Ministry of Education (MoE), were used for document analysis to extend the study’s data. The 19 Saudi academics were from five academic fields and disciplines across three public universities in Saudi Arabia. The study employs a reflexive thematic analysis approach, guided by a conceptual framework that integrates three theories as an analytical tool for data analysis. These theories include organisational knowledge creation theory, informed by both Nonaka's and the SECI model, social exchange theory, and intellectual capital theory. The findings indicate that, while the concept of KE and its practice remain unclear within the context of public universities, Saudi academics are interested in engaging with and participating in KE and its associated activities. The findings suggest that describing KE as a social and dynamic process involves several knowledge management processes, including the creation and sharing of knowledge at two levels: the interactional level, which relates to individual exchanges of academic knowledge (through face-to-face interactions with students, colleagues, and volunteering in the community), and the organisational level, which involves conducting research as a central part of their academic responsibilities (which align with universities’ efforts to foster collaborative relationships both within and outside universities). Also, the findings reveal that this view contrasts with their description of knowledge transfer as a planned process or as collaboration with industry. This presents a relatively narrow view of KE aimed at aligning with the endeavours in a knowledge-based economy, as the literature suggests. Additionally, findings indicate that academics recognise various individual, organisational, and social factors that promote their academic engagement. These include supporting internal motivation, building trust and KE norms, establishing reward systems and collaborative relationships, and the utilisation of IT tools. The findings also show that academics perceived university leaders and managers as important facilitating influences on their academic engagement in KE activities. The findings are intended to assist Saudi public universities in developing and supporting academics’ knowledge exchange activities.39 0Item Restricted Designing a Health Education Program About Childhood Obligatory Vaccines(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alsaroor, Yassen; Hafez, FatmaBackground: Vaccination boosts immunity in children against fatal infections like polio, measles, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. Parents are key decision-makers and promote complete immunization programs. Health education for parents enhances knowledge, practice, and shifts negative perceptions. Aim: This study aimed to design a health education program about childhood obligatory vaccines. Method: The Delphi technique is used to design the program. Judgmental sampling technique was used to recruit 10 health educators, 10 experts in health education, community health programs, communicable diseases, and community health nursing, and purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 16 mothers of vaccinated children. Results: Participants provided highly positive feedback on the health education program. They strongly agreed that the program enhanced their understanding of childhood obligatory vaccines. The objectives and learning materials were rated favorably, with participants highlighting that the program addressed various learning styles effectively. Conclusion: This study highlights that a well-designed health education program on childhood obligatory vaccines helps mothers better understand the importance of timely immunization. By providing clear, practical, and accessible information, the program addresses common concerns, corrects misconceptions, and empowers mothers to make informed decisions that protect their children's health and contribute to community well-being. Keywords: Childhood, Delphi technique, Health education, obligatory vaccine, program3 0Item Restricted دراسة العالقات بين ممارسات ادارة الموارد البشرية االلكترونية وبين تعزيز جودة االداء في العمل لدى موظفي قسم التمريض بالمستشفيات (دراسة تطبيقية على القطاع الصحى الحكومي بالمدينة المنوره)(Saudi Digital Library, 2024) المطيري, خالد; عبدالعليم, محمدالعلاقة بين ممارسات ادارة الموارد البشرية الالكترونية وبين تعزيز جودة الاداء في المستشفيات (دراسة تطبيقية )8 0Item Restricted Design and Synthesis of Novel CYP51 Inhibitors as Therapeutics for Candida Albicans Infection(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) ٌAlanazi, Rehab Saleh; Claire, SimonsFungal infections are a global concern with C. albicans being one of the most prevalent fungal pathogens that causes infections ranging from superficial to life-threatening invasive infections in immunocompromised patients. Azole antifungal agents remain the prophylactic and first line treatment however, resistance to these drugs has increased with sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) mutations being the most common resistance mechanism in C. albicans. The project aimed to design and synthesise novel CYP51 inhibitors that can overcome the azole CYP51 mutation resistance mechanism in C. albicans. Computational methods were performed using MOE for molecular docking and Desmond Maestro for MD simulations to evaluate optimal CaCYP51 active site binding, key amino acid binding interactions and binding stability. All triazole series demonstrated promising MD results with optimal haem positioning and compensatory amide linker interactions (H-bonding, π-π interaction) overcoming Tyr132 mutations in resistant C. albicans. Hydroxyl triazole/tetrazole with long arm moiety (Chapter II), non-hydroxyl triazole/tetrazole propenamide (Chapter III) and non-hydroxyl triazole/tetrazole para-alkoxy biphenyl (Chapter IV) series were selected for synthesis. All novel compounds were synthesised through six to eight synthetic steps and fully characterised (NMR, HPLC-MS, elemental analysis). The compounds 27a-29a and 26b-28b (Chapter II) were active against wild type C. albicans (MIC < 0.03 μg/mL) compared with FLZ MIC = 0.125 μg/mL and PCZ MIC < 0.03 μg/mL. The promising compounds 26b-28b were found to be active against single mutant ScCYP51 strains, Y2301 (Y140F) and Y2513 (Y140H) with MIC≤ 0.03-0.06 μg/mL, comparable to PCZ (0.06 μg/mL) and the difluorophenyl compounds 27a-29a with MIC 0.06-0.5 μg/mL were better than FLZ (32 μg/mL). All compounds 27a-29a and 26b-28b showed comparable antifungal activity to PCZ MIC against Y525 (CaMDR1a) strain, while the antifungal activity was reduced against Y570 (CaCDR1b) strain. Additionally, promising compounds 27a-29a, 26b and 28b showed good selectivity with reduced activity against the human ERG11-overexpressing Y2760 strain (MIC >16 μg/mL). Compound 26b showed greater IC50 against wild type (0.41 ± 0.03 μM) and double mutant CaCYP51 (1.89 ± 0.24 μM) compared with both FLZ (IC50 of 25.72 ± 3.55 μM and lead compound MA6.27 (IC50 of 8.49 ± 1.27 μM). Results provide proposed SAR for CaCYP51 inhibitors optimisation, include 2,4-dichloro phenyl in the short arm (side chain A) that occupies the hydrophobic pocket, CH2-triazole allows optimal haem binding, and amide linker connects both arms and para-alkoxy biphenyl long arm (side chain B) provides optimal positioning with additional binding interactions, such as His132, His310, Met508, Phe380 and Ser378. All azole antifungal agents showed consistent increased MICs against single mutant Tyr132 (Y140F and Y140H) strains, indicating that azoles struggle to overcome these amino acid mutations. In contrast, compound 26b retained strong activity comparable to PCZ and OTZ and exceeded that of FLZ. These findings suggest that compound 26b could be present a potential lead for the development of antifungal agents to overcome amino acid mutation resistance in C. albicans.9 0Item Restricted Coopetition and Knowledge Sharing among Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alghamdi, Nahed; Gritt, Emma; Foresgern, EmmanOver recent decades, management research has increasingly examined how organisations respond to uncertainty and rapid environmental change. One approach that has attracted sustained attention is coopetition, defined as an inter-organisational relationship in which firms simultaneously compete and cooperate. This is particularly significant for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often operate with limited resources and therefore rely on relational strategies to remain adaptable. However, because cooperation and competition overlap in practice, coopetition is inherently tense and can increase concerns about opportunism, knowledge leakage, and vulnerability. Within this framing, knowledge sharing is a central set of practices through which the cooperative dimension of coopetition can generate value, yet it is typically conditional and bounded. Building on this context, this thesis investigates how SME hotels in Saudi Arabia manage inter-organisational coopetition and knowledge sharing within the tourism industry, while accounting for the broader cultural and institutional environment shaped by Vision 2030 reforms. While previous studies have primarily focused on large firms in Western economies, particularly in manufacturing and technology-intensive industries, there remains a limited understanding of how coopetition and knowledge-sharing practices unfold in SMEs where collaboration is more informal, reactive, and embedded in everyday routines, especially under rapid institutional change. The Saudi setting is not treated as a contribution in itself. Instead, it provides an analytically relevant environment in which seasonality, regulatory change, intensified competition, and increasing reliance on digital systems make the tensions of coopetition especially visible. The study applies Third-Generation Activity Theory (3GAT) as an analytical framework to examine multi-voiced interactions and contradictions shaping inter-organisational practices. A qualitative, interpretivist approach was employed, combining semi-structured interviews with 27 owners and senior managers from 12 SME hotels across Makkah, Madinah, and Jeddah, alongside non-participant observations and document analysis of Vision 2030 initiatives and relevant government platforms. Reflexive thematic analysis guided the coding and interpretation of the dataset. The findings indicate that coopetition among Saudi SME hotels is mainly informal, unstructured and situational, emerging as a practical response to seasonal demand fluctuations and reform-driven pressures rather than a deliberate, long-term strategy, with knowledge sharing remaining selective and carefully managed amid competitive exposure.6 0