Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Developing a Model of Crowd Management based on Group Behaviour Theory; The Case of The Hajj from an Architecture and Urban Design Perspective(Surrey University, 2024-10-24) Alnabati, Abdullah; Li, YanningThis thesis examines the complexities of the Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, undertaken by millions of Muslims annually. As a large-scale religious event, the Hajj stands out for its massive, organized movement of people, all following specific sequences in time and geography. At its core, this study provides a comprehensive analysis by examining the perspectives of both pilgrims and event organisers. It also contributes to the understanding of crowd behaviour in a unique context. This dual focus offers a holistic understanding of the crowd dynamics involved. The research fills key gaps in the literature by investigating factors that shape pilgrims' experiences, such as cultural practices, language barriers, and inequalities, all of which are examined in depth. It further analyses how sociocultural and environmental factors influence pilgrim behaviour, exploring the interplay of prior knowledge, exposure, experience, and traveling companions in shaping these experiences. Grounded in an interpretivist philosophical approach, the study recognizes that meaning and experience are co-constructed by participants. To capture these insights, the research employs a qualitative methodology, including a careful thematic analysis of 30 semi-structured interviews with both pilgrims and organisers. Furthermore, the study engages with contemporary key theories of social behaviour, including social identity theory, nudge theory, and gaze theory, to explain why individuals behave in specific ways and how these behaviours can be guided toward socially beneficial outcomes. Eight factors influencing crowd behaviour at large-scale events like the Hajj are identified, categorized into pilgrim-related and external factors. The pilgrim-related factors include: 1) cultural differences, 2) verbal and non-verbal communication and literacy, 3) prior knowledge, exposure, and experience, 4) socio-economic class, and 5) gender. External factors encompass: 1) group travel dynamics, 2) security and scheduling, and 3) environmental conditions such as weather. While some of these factors may appear in other large-scale events, they manifest uniquely within the context of the Hajj, contributing to a deeper understanding of crowd behaviour in mega-events.26 0Item Restricted USERS' PERCEPTIONS OF HOLY PUBLIC SPACES IN THE HOLY CITY OF MAKKAH(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2024-07-01) Nabhan, Yahya Muhammed; Bin Lamit, Hasanuddin; Bin Azizui, Muhammad FaridFrom the first human settlements, public spaces were connected to the people and dominated their activities and the urban lifestyle. Recently, many studies have been undertaken to enhance the public spaces in modern city, and placemaking is the most used method to enhance the public spaces that align with the users’ needs. The public spaces around the Grand Mosque in Makkah have worked in multiple ways to enhance the profile of the Grand Mosque and the Sacred Places in the Holy City of Makkah since the time of rebuilding the Kaabah until the present day. Also, the Holy City of Makkah has become one of the most important religious, economic, commercial, and social cities and the estimated number of visitors to the Holy City of Makkah will be around 30 million by the year 2030. Moreover, recently the disappearance of public open places in the Holy City of Makkah, especially in the urban center and around the Grand Mosque, led to the disappearance of activities by visitors-and residents, turning the open spaces into generally transit areas. The study considered two types of activities, holiness activity and public activity. This research is aimed at creating parameters to enhance the Holy Public Spaces around the Grand Mosque by considering the users ‘needs in public spaces while addressing the Sense of Holiness. This study adopted an exploratory and explanatory approach to better comprehend the historical development of these areas and to investigate the user's perception of the Holy Public Spaces. The first step in the process of study is to identify the existing conditions of the public spaces and the issues that exist within it. A Holy Space Making framework was later developed through a systematic literature review to evaluate the public spaces in the holy city by taking into account the possible influential factors that might affect the users in the public spaces through readapted place-making factors and the Sense of Holiness. This is followed by the use of a quantitative approach, collecting data from 433 people of various nationalities by simple random sampling method who had been to the Holy City of Makkah to either do Umrah or Hajj. This research used social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook together with emails to disseminate this questionnaire. SPSS was used to do the statistical analysis of the data based on the Likert scale. Based on the results, it is evident that the quality of public spaces in the Holy City of Makkah significantly impacts its users’ public attitude and productivity. This research highlights the meaning and the factors that may enhance these public spaces. The findings indicates that users relate faithfulness, holiness, privacy with sanctity while identity attachment, sense of place, peace and character to place attachment. The findings of this research have wide implications for fields where the concept of a holy public place is significant. This research is a crucial milestone in gathering empirical information on the creation of Holy Public Space-Making that takes into account the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs and perceptions of users to improve the quality of life in these spaces. It is recommended that further emphasis be given to understanding the functions of open spaces in places in Islamic countries which are identified and recognized as Holy.17 0Item Restricted Social, Behavioural and Environmental Factors Influencing Foodborne Illness Among Saudi Arabian Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic(Saudi Digital Library, 2023) Banah, Osama; Haswell, Melissa; Toms, Leisa-MareeThis body of research sought to identify often overlooked social, cultural and behavioural contributions to the measured frequency of foodborne illness among university students studying Public health in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia. Data was collected from 215 students through two surveys and monthly reporting of foodborne episodes over one year. A higher frequency of reported episodes was associated with some socially and culturally -influenced food access, preparation, storage and preferences in exploratory regression models. The methods and findings of this research can assist future studies to guide health promotion practices aiming to reduce foodborne illness.16 0