Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Exploring the Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing the Persistence of Traditional Flood Irrigation in Al Ula, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Arafah, Mohammed Ayman M; Ainslie, AndrewThis dissertation examines the socio-cultural factors that contribute to the continued use of traditional flood irrigation among farmers in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, despite rising water scarcity and the existence of more effective options (modern irrigation methods), such as drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation. Al Ula's oasis agriculture is heavily dependent on the non-renewable Saq-Ram aquifer, where unsustainable withdrawals and flood irrigation practices have hastened groundwater depletion, salinity building, and nitrate contamination. While Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 emphasises modern irrigation as a national goal, adoption remains low in Al Ula, indicating that technical and economic explanations are insufficient. This study, guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), utilizes a qualitative, exploratory approach to investigate how social norms, attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and broader cultural traditions influence irrigation decisions. Data were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with farmers, which were conducted partly through snowball sampling on participants' farms and partly through an opportunistic approach at the Al Ula Fruit Festival, and complemented with direct field observations. Transcripts were analysed thematically. The study found that dependence on flood irrigation is fuelled by cultural continuity, family heritage, and peer influence, as well as practical views of simplicity, price, and crop quality. Partial modernization, such as installing pipelines to convey water while still flooding basins, reflects common misunderstandings and risk aversion. Although farmers realized groundwater depletion, they prioritized immediate output and profit, revealing an awareness-action gap. Notably, participants stated a conditional willingness to implement modern irrigation if financial, technical, and institutional support were offered. This study contributes to theory by expanding TPB to include social reinforcement and cultural identity, as well as to practice by emphasising the importance of culturally sensitive, farmer-centred policy. Addressing Al Ula's irrigation dilemma necessitates solutions that are solved not only by transferring technology but also interacting with the socio-cultural factors that underpin traditional practices.9 0Item Restricted Characterizing Immune and Epithelial Biomarkers in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Progression Using the KBP Mouse Model.(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Almoteriy, Rimas; Chiara, Gorrini; Erica, WillsonTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous and aggressive subtype of breast cancer with limited therapies currently available due to the lack of targeted receptors. Macrophages and epithelial tumor cells, which are key cells present in the tumor microenvironment, have been acknowledged to play a significant role in disease progression and metastasis. The study aims to identify the tumor-immune biomarkers that contribute to cancer aggressiveness in a well-established K14cre; BRCA1^f/f; p53^f/f (KBP) TNBC mouse model that resembles aggressive human TNBC. Histological analysis showed abnormal cellular morphology, and CK14 immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence staining confirmed the basal-like epithelial characteristics across primary, early, and late metastatic sites, whereas CD68 immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence staining demonstrated macrophage infiltration with focal infiltration in early metastasis and widespread macrophage infiltration in late metastasis. Gene expression studies displayed differential expression of the following cytokines: CCL2 and CXCL5, which are involved in macrophage and neutrophil recruitment. Nonetheless, the project’s results illustrate the dynamic role of the immune microenvironment in the progression of TNBC and propose opportunities for developing therapeutics.5 0Item Restricted Divergent Risk Governance in the EU: A Critical Review of the EFSA and EMA Decisions on Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂)(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alzahrani, Muhannad; Lofstedt, RagnarThis paper examines how the European Union banned Titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a food additive due to institutional differences between the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA). Both organizations work within an EU framework of public health, although the two organizations differ vastly in their risk-assessment paradigms. EFSA, with the precautionary principle, suspends authorization in the presence of scientific uncertainty that poses a threat to potential harm, whereas EMA does not, with its risk-benefit logic better suited to pharmacological products, which balances advantages and adverse effects. Beck, Risk Society, Risk Perception by Slovic, Precautionary Principle, and Brussels Effect are used to explain regulatory health outcomes, scientific uncertainty, and communication that goes to the general population.11 0Item Restricted Digital Transformation in Tourism : A Case Study of Holiday Inn Guildford(university of surrey, 2025) ALSULAIMANI, ALANOUD; TOM, LUNTThis study investigates the impact of digital transformation on luxury hotels, focusing on enhancing competitiveness, resilience, and customer experience. Using a qualitative approach, the research explores how digital technologies such as online booking platforms, mobile check-in, and smart services are adopted in the post pandemic hospitality sector. Data were collected through secondary sources, highlighting the strategies luxury hotels employ to maintain operational efficiency and improve guest satisfaction. Findings reveal that digital transformation not only enhances customer experience but also strengthens hotels’ adaptability and market competitiveness. The study provides practical insights for hotel managers aiming to implement effective digital strategies and offers a foundation for future research in hospitality digitalization15 0Item Restricted Navigating the Complex Cloud Manufacturing Landscape: A Multi-Context Framework for Informed Adoption Decision-Making(2025-03-01) Amer Asiri; Zhang, David; He, AllenCloud Manufacturing offers a transformative approach to manufacturing by integrating cloud-based technologies and the sharing economy to enable on-demand access to distributed manufacturing resources and services. Its scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency have attracted growing interest from researchers and organizations. However, adopting such innovation is complex and requires a comprehensive understanding of the decision-making considerations. This study aims to develop a multi-context framework that supports informed adoption decisions by identifying the key enablers and inhibitors across various organizational roles. The research was conducted in three phases: framework development, validation, and field testing. In the first phase, an extensive literature review was conducted to extract relevant considerations from Cloud Manufacturing, Cloud Computing, innovation adoption theories, service-oriented manufacturing, and sharing economy. These considerations were filtered and structured into a five-context framework covering technology, organization, environment, human, and business aspects. The second phase involved validating the framework through a qualitative survey with leading researchers in related fields. Their feedback refined the framework, resulting in 28 adoption considerations. The final phase tested the framework through a multi-case study involving interviews with decision-makers from organizations representing the main Cloud Manufacturing actors: platform providers, resource providers, and users. These interviews explored how adoption decisions are made in practice and revealed distinct patterns, motivators, and concerns. To operationalize the framework, an AHP-based interactive tool was developed to help leaders evaluate adoption suitability based on weighted contextual priorities. This tool translates theoretical insights into practical guidance. The thesis outcomes include a validated multi-context framework, an empirically grounded understanding of adoption practices, and a practical decision-support tool.9 0Item Restricted Reforming Jointly Owned Property in Line with Saudi Vision 2030: Socio- legal Lessons Learned from English Commonhold and South African Sectional Title(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alotaibi, Faisal; Sarah, Singh; John, PictonThis thesis critically examines how Saudi Arabia’s Jointly owned property law and practises can be reformed to support Saudi’s 2030 housing development plan, which aims to increase home ownership in the country. Due to space restrictions and overcrowding in densely populated areas, jointly owned property is key to realising this objective. However, this thesis outlines several challenges, including inadequate legal awareness about JOP, disputes and enforcement issues, currently impede this aim, leading to an increasing demand for reforms. To address these challenges and propose appropriate reforms, this thesis adopts a comparative socio-legal methodology that brings insights from comparative doctrinal analysis into conversation with those insights gained from interviews with owners/lawyers conducted in Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and England. Employing grounded theory for data analysis, themes emerged from the data, highlighting commonalities of best practices across the jurisdictions and also the need for a locally tailored governance framework due to different cultural norms. The analysis highlights gaps in the regulatory framework itself as well as enforcement and awareness for Saudi owners and tenants. To further examine the challenges for local unit owners and tenants, the thesis adopts Saudi-specific case studies. The case studies also highlight the impact of all reform proposals put forward throughout the thesis.6 0Item Restricted Strengthening Socio-Economic Resilience to Natural Hazards and Compound Events in Western Australia(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alnufaily, Eissa Ahmed E; Marleen, de RuiterThe socio-economic risk associated with natural hazards is becoming increasingly relevant, as climate change is affecting the frequency and intensity of climate induced hazards such as cyclones and bushfires across Australia. Especially in Western Australia, where it suffers from different types of natural hazards and disasters, and posing different risks such as mortality and infrastructural damages. Quantitative and qualitative approaches are currently being used to identify hazards and disasters in Australia, throughout Python, ArcGIS Pro, and statistical analysis. We were able to identify natural hazards affecting WA in a 30 years duration. Currently, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation strategies are being developed and implemented to reduce their risk and enhance resilience and recovery. Regardless, there are various gaps found in the current policies that needs more integration between stakeholders to enhance WA resilience and disaster recovery from climate risk.17 0Item Restricted Insider Threat Detection in a Hybrid IT Environment Using Unsupervised Anomaly Detection Techniques(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alharbi, Mohammed; Antonio, GouglidisThis dissertation analyses insider threat detection in hybrid IT environments with unsupervised anomaly detection techniques. Insider threats, including those committed by trusted persons with granted access, are considered to be one of the most challenging to alleviate cybersecurity threats because they resemble legal user behavior and do not have labelled datasets to train supervised models. Hybrid infrastructures, an integration of on-premise and cloud resources, also make detection harder as they create large, heterogeneous and fragmented logs. In order to cope with such challenges, this paper presents a detection system that uses isolation forest and local outlier factor algorithms. Multi-source organisational data, such as authentication, file, email, HTTP, device and LDAP logs, were pre-processed and loaded into enriched user profiles, with psychometric attributes added where possible. The framework was assessed by the CERT Insider Threat Dataset v6.2, where the results indicated that both algorithms were effective in detecting anomalous behaviours: Isolation Forest was effective in detecting global outliers, whereas Local Outlier Factor was good in detecting subtle local outliers. It was found through the comparative analysis that the strength of each method was complementary, and they should be used together when stratifying users into high-, medium-, and low-risk groups. Although it still has constraints in terms of synthetic data, real-time implementation, and ecological validity, the study is relevant in the development of anomaly-based detection methods and offers viable information to organisations wishing to be proactive in curbing insider threats21 0Item Restricted Characterising the Metabolic Preferences of Pneumococci Experimentally Adapted to Nasopharynx or Lungs(University of Liverpool, 2025) Monshi, Manal Solayman; Daniel, Neill; Mall, HorsburghStreptococcus pneumoniae is both a commensal of the upper respiratory tract and a leading cause of pneumonia and invasive diseases. Its ability to adapt to the biochemically distinct environments of the nasopharynx and lungs is crucial for persistence and pathogenesis. This thesis investigates how S. pneumoniae metabolically adapts to these niches, with the central hypothesis that local nutrient availability and niche-specific pressures shape the bacterium’s metabolic strategies and evolutionary trajectories. To explore this, pneumococci were subjected to experimental evolution in murine models of nasopharyngeal carriage and lung infection. Twenty lineages were generated through serial in vivo passaging and subsequently characterised using carbon utilisation profiling (Biolog assays), NMR metabolomics, genome sequencing, transcriptional analyses, and in vivo infection models. Metabolomic profiling revealed clear differences in nutrient composition between the nasopharynx and lungs, particularly in the availability of carbohydrates and amino acids. Nasopharyngeal tissues were rich in host-derived glycans, while the lungs were enriched in glucose, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), and tripeptides. Adapted lineages displayed distinct metabolic phenotypes. Nasopharynx-adapted strains acquired enhanced capacity to utilise N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), driven by mutations in regulatory genes such as nagR or promoter regions of the nanB operon, leading to increased glycosidase activity and colonisation efficiency. Lung-adapted lineages exhibited broader carbon metabolism, including increased galactose utilisation. A synonymous mutation was identified in the metabolic gene gapN in a lineage that showed long-term persistence in the nasopharynx. Experiments with gapN deletion strains suggested that redox balance plays a role in colonisation. Furthermore, phenylalanine and BCAA metabolism emerged as key adaptive traits, with several nasopharynx-adapted strains showing transcriptional upregulation of BCAA transporters (livJ, brnQ) and the global regulator codY. This work demonstrates that pneumococcal metabolic adaptation is niche-specific, often driven by regulatory rather than structural genetic changes. The findings provide mechanistic insight into host-pathogen metabolic interactions and highlight experimental evolution as a powerful tool to dissect bacterial fitness in vivo. These insights lay the foundation for future therapeutic strategies targeting metabolic pathways involved in colonisation and disease progression.7 0Item Restricted TokenizedCarbon: Owner-Centric Ownership of Carbon Credits Using NFTs and Blockchain Technology(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Mistadi, Asma Majed; Hussain, Farookh KhadeerCarbon credits are an essential environmental and financial tool in our fight against climate change and global warming. They were developed under the Kyoto Protocol as part of a market-based mechanism to incentivise emission reduction by trading these assets for financial gain. In voluntary carbon markets, they are awarded to environmental projects that aim to reduce, avoid, or absorb carbon emissions from the atmosphere. These markets face several issues including centralisation, double counting, high cost, and a lack of transparency and traceability. This led to fraud and integrity issues and a lack of participation. The current literature is moving towards the use of blockchain technology for its unique features of decentralisation, immutability, security, and transparency. However, it still lacks a valid reliable and accessible methodology for the ownership provenance of those credits in an owner-centric manner that covers the different levels and states of the life of carbon credits since issuance, and it also lacks a post-issuance error handling approach and a subdivision approach for subdividing a single carbon credit to multiple units. In this thesis, our aim is to address these gaps using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and their underlying blockchain technology and smart contracts to build a comprehensive solution to this problem in the form of a Decentralised application (DApp) that tokenises and manages carbon credits as NFTs from issuance until retirement or cancellation which is capable of managing multiple levels of granularity of those credits from micro-to-macro level and also incorporate an NFT-based subdivision of a single carbon credit to multiple units. This will ensure reliable, unique, immutable, and traceable ownership proofs. This thesis contributes to the body of knowledge in three dimensions. It presents a systematic literature review to identify gaps in the current literature and the need for an owner-centric NFT-based approach to the ownership provenance of carbon credits. Furthermore, it includes the development of a decentralised solution TokenizedCarbon (TC) that incorporates several services including the Multilevel Carbon Minting Service (MCMS), the Fractional Carbon Minting Service (FCMS) , the Carbon Retire and Cancel Service (CRCS) and the Intelligent Carbon Minting Service (ICMS) that integrates GenAI into the process to create CC-NFTs which addresses the current literature gaps. Additionally, it includes an evaluation of the proposed solution in simulated local and network environments. This solution takes these important environmental and digital assets and represents them using NFTs which act like an ownership certificate of these assets. This will increase participation, liquidity, integrity, and account ability in these markets, which also promotes global climate goals.7 0