Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Exploring the Impact of Using GenAI (Google Gemini) to Enhance Student Practices and Abilities in Generating Effective Brainstorming Techniques for Writing Skills Among University Third Level EFL Students in Saudi Arabia.(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alqahtani, Yahya; Murray, LiamBrainstorming is an essential prewriting step that Saudi university students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) often find difficult due to cognitive overload, writing anxiety, time pressure, and a lack of strategy training. The present study aimed to examine the effect of using Google Gemini, a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), on the brainstorming and writing processes of 26 EFL learners at the third level at Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Saudi Arabian over a 12- week semester. The design was a pragmatic, explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach with pre-test and post-test observations, two structured questionnaires, semi structured interviews, and classroom brainstorming observations. Results indicated measurable improvements in several areas from the structured use of Gemini. The post-test involving traditional and generative AI brainstorming methods showed that about 69.57 % of students' improvement was achieved, indicating that the students had internalised the skill. Students also demonstrated gains in the number of content words, writing organisation, use of transition words, vocabulary quality, and the speed of generating ideas for writing. Overall, students' perceptions of the tool were positive, with many noting decreased anxiety, increased motivation, time savings, and increased confidence. Most showed evidence of self-regulated, critically reflective use of the tool, rather than passive reliance on it at the end of the experiment. Drawing on the integrated findings, the study puts forward two original contributions. AI-Mediated Brainstorming Process (AIMBP) is a teacher-led pedagogical framework structured around five key principles: learner primacy, phase separation, time-bounded engagement, critical evaluation of AI output, and progressive scaffolding withdrawal. The second is AI-Mediated Literacy (AIML), a related construct referring to the skills students should develop to use generative AI responsibly in academic writing settings. The study concludes that when AI tools are used within well-defined, teacher-led educational approaches, they are likely to yield the most positive educational outcomes20 0Item Restricted The Effect of Malocclusion Classification and Sex on the Acoustic Distinction Between the /S/ and /SH/ Fricatives(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alzahrani, Abdullah; Tabbaa, Sawsan; Trouten, James; Maldonado, IsaacObjective: Sibilant fricatives depend on the anterior dentition, yet most studies analyze one sibilant or pool sounds. This study examined whether malocclusion affects /S/ and /SH/ equally across sexes. Methods: Thirty-six pre-treatment patients (24 female, 12 male; 19 Class I, 6 Class II, 11 Class III) read a balanced corpus. From 419 tokens (313 /s/, 106 /ʃ/), four spectral moments, duration, and intensity were measured in Praat and analyzed by three-way MANOVA with sound, class, and sex. Results: The interaction was significant for all four spectral moments (p<0.05). Effects were sex-dependent: Class III females lengthened and quietened fricatives while males shortened and amplified them. Center of gravity separated /S/ from /SH/ in every group except Class III males. Conclusion: Malocclusion and sex jointly shape sibilant acoustics. The lost /S/-/SH/ separation in Class III males may underlie unclear speech. These findings support sex specific analyses.16 0Item Restricted Cybersecurity Risk Assessment for Smart Airports – Identifying and Mitigating IoT Vulnerabilities(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alruwaili, Abdulrahman; Younis, NuzhatThis paper will examine this increased challenge posed by cybersecurity with the introduction of Internet of Things (IoT) in smart airports. Modern airports have seen a tremendous increase in its attack surface with more connected devices required to run shop operations like baggage handling, biometrics access, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Regardless of the standard available such as NIST, ISO/IEC 27001 and ICAO guidelines, there is still a gap regarding the specificity of the frameworks to the complexity and real-time requirements of smart courses on aviation. In this paper, the researcher uses STRIDE and DREAD threat-modelling frameworks to characterize and measure threats to IoT and suggests a new three-level mitigation strategy, including safe authentication, zero-trust network partitioning, and AI-aided, anomaly detection. The validation is done by using real-life case studies and simulated attacks. At the end of the paper, the discussion on the framework applicability and its concurrence with CyBOK knowledge areas are presented and provide a solution to an urgent issue in aviation cybersecurity7 0Item Restricted The Relationship between Performance Measurement and management Systems Maturity, Group Culture, and Performance: Evidence from Saudi Private Companies(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alotaibi, Seham Sahal H; Prof, Yin Yan; Lana, LiuThe overall objectives of this study were to examine the maturity levels of performance measurement and management systems (PMMS) in Saudi Arabian private companies and to investigate how organisational characteristics and group culture influence both system development and performance outcomes. Although PMMS has been widely researched in large Western organisations, there is still limited understanding of how these systems operate in non-Western and rapidly changing economies. A quantitative approach was used, drawing primarily on contingency theory, complemented by institutional theory to interpret findings shaped by external regulatory and normative pressures, and supported by Ouchi's (1979) technical/social control theory as an analytical lens. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 227 senior managers from different industries. PMMS maturity was assessed through five key dimensions: strategic adaptability, employee involvement, technology integration, measurement diversity (based on balanced scorecard), and data characteristics. These dimensions were examined alongside organisational size and industry type to understand their influence on PMMS maturity patterns. Additionally, the study investigated how group culture facilitates PMMS development and moderates the relationship between system maturity and organisational outcomes, specifically perceived financial performance and system satisfaction. The results showed that PMMS maturity in Saudi organisations is strongly influenced by contextual factors. Employee involvement was the strongest predictor of financial performance, followed by technology integration and data characteristics. Group culture significantly affected financial performance but not system satisfaction, suggesting culture influences behaviour more than perception. However, group culture's moderating effects revealed nuances: it weakened technology integration's positive impact on system satisfaction, suggesting that in collaborative cultures, technology-driven measurement may seem impersonal. Strategic adaptability and measurement diversity showed no significant effects on financial performance, while measurement diversity negatively affected PMMS satisfaction. Maturity levels varied across organisations, with strategic adaptability most clearly distinguishing between clusters. Financial and holding companies achieved the highest maturity (92% in the high-maturity group), consistent with institutional theory's account of coercive isomorphism arising from regulatory oversight. Service firms showed greater maturity (69.7%) than manufacturing firms (48%), while small organisations were absent from the high-maturity cluster, indicating resource constraints limit PMMS development. Group culture influenced all PMMS dimensions, with stronger effects on social aspects like employee involvement than technical features like technology integration. Overall, the study provides insight into how PMMS maturity develops in transforming economies. The findings highlight employee involvement and technology integration as key drivers of financial performance, with system development depending on company size, industry, and culture. The research suggests that organisations in transforming economies should prioritise employee participation and technological capabilities over expanding measurement diversity, ensuring systems align with organisational characteristics, cultural values, and available resources.5 0Item Restricted New In-Service Teachers’ Perspectives on Practicums in Saudi Arabia(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alsughayyer, Layla; Troudi, SalahThis study explores new in-service teachers’ perspectives on practicum experiences in Saudi Arabia, focusing on how sociocultural factors and interpersonal interactions shape their professional development. Situated within an interpretivist paradigm, the research seeks to capture the meanings new teachers construct as they reflect on their practicum experiences and their early transition into the teaching profession. The study is underpinned by Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory, which conceptualises professional learning as a socially mediated and contextually situated process. An exploratory interpretive qualitative design was adopted to prioritise depth, meaning, and contextual understanding rather than generalisation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten new Saudi teachers teaching at the primary, intermediate, and secondary school levels, who had graduated within the last five years and had one year or less of teaching experience. Participants were purposefully selected from the five main regions of the Kingdom to ensure regional diversity while maintaining interpretive depth. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis, allowing patterns of meaning to be identified across participants’ reflections while remaining closely grounded in their lived experiences. The findings illustrate how practicum experiences are shaped by mentoring relationships, supervisory practices, and opportunities for interaction and reflection. Participants’ experiences reveal variation in the extent to which practicums supported professional readiness, confidence, and identity formation. By foregrounding teachers’ voices, this study offers contextually grounded insights into practicum practices within Saudi teacher education. The findings have implications for the design and implementation of practicum programmes, particularly in relation to mentoring structures, professional support, and the alignment between theory and practice.3 0Item Restricted Examining Teachers' and Students' Perceptions of Critical Literacy in EFL Reading Classes: A Study in Saudi Higher Education(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alshaikhi, Ashwaq; Naylor, Amanda; Arkhipenka, VolhaThe rapid growth of social media and digital communication has expanded students’ exposure to texts, increasing the diversity of perspectives they encounter and the frequency with which they engage with multimodal content, making the ability to critically examine perspectives, assumptions, and representations an essential dimension of literacy today. Critical literacy (CL) has been proposed as an approach that encourages learners to engage with texts as active interpreters who question representation, examine multiple viewpoints, and participate in meaning-making processes (Janks, 2010; Lewison et al., 2014; McLaughlin & DeVoogd, 2005). Despite its strong theoretical foundations, the integration of CL within EFL classrooms remains limited in many contexts, including Saudi Arabia, where language instruction has traditionally prioritised linguistic accuracy and textbook-based learning (Barnawi, 2019). This study investigates how CL can be understood, implemented, and experienced in Saudi EFL reading classrooms within higher education. Using a qualitative multiple-case study design, the research examined four EFL reading classes taught by four female university teachers at a Saudi university, involving 139 female students. Data were collected through pre- and post-teacher interviews, classroom observations, and student focus group discussions, and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022). The findings indicate that teachers initially demonstrated varied understandings of CL, but engagement with the lesson materials and classroom implementation contributed to a more nuanced awareness of its pedagogical potential. CL-oriented instruction encouraged greater classroom dialogue, multiple interpretations of texts, and increased student participation. Student perspectives also suggested deeper engagement with texts and reflection on social issues. However, the implementation of CL was shaped by students’ language proficiency, classroom conditions, curriculum demands, and institutional expectations. This study offers insight into the possibilities and challenges of implementing CL in Saudi EFL classrooms.5 0Item Restricted Waves in Partially Ionised Solar Atmospheric Plasmas in Ionisation Non-equilibrium(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alshehri, Jawaher; Ballai, Istvan; Verth, Gary; Fedun, ViktorEnergy transport in the solar atmosphere, particularly the heating of the chromosphere and corona, remains a significant challenge in solar physics. Magnetohydrodynamic waves are considered a primary mechanism for this transport; however, in the weakly ionised lower atmosphere, their damping is governed by interactions between charged particles and the predominant neutral population. Ideal single-fluid models do not capture these interactions. The principal contribution of this study is the analysis of chemical processes at the perturbation level. In particular, the perturbations to ionisation and recombination rates are incorporated into the linearised equations, enabling ionisation non-equilibrium to be included directly in the dispersion relation rather than neglected. This methodology has not previously been applied to the linear magnetoacoustic spectrum. This thesis analyses the influence of ionisation and recombination on magnetoacoustic wave propagation and damping in ionised solar plasmas. Using a two-fluid model with separate charged and neutral components coupled through collisions, thermal exchange, and ionisation and recombination, we investigate collisional coupling, propagation direction, and plasma-$\beta$. The resulting dispersion relation is analysed using Friedrichs diagrams. Ionisation non-equilibrium introduces an additional relaxation mechanism that modifies wave damping and anisotropy. In weakly collisional regimes, chemical coupling enables neutral slow modes to inherit magnetic anisotropy despite weak friction, whereas in strongly collisional regimes these modes become damped and can transition to overdamped behaviour. These effects depend critically on plasma-$\beta$. In strongly ionised plasmas, a minority neutral component can influence wave propagation and damping. Chemical relaxation is particularly important for slow modes because their compressibility produces density and temperature perturbations that alter the ionisation balance. Finally, a three-fluid model of non-magnetised photospheric plasma examines charge exchange between protons and neutral hydrogen. Charge exchange strengthens ion-neutral coupling, enhances damping of charged-fluid perturbations, and promotes a common acoustic response, with greater influence in weakly ionised regimes where neutrals dominate.7 0Item Restricted Investigating a Potentially Effective Minimum Brace Wear Time for Clinically Meaningful Outcomes in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Literature Review(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alanazi, Essa Eid G; Alana, StevensonBackground: Orthotic spinal brace treatment is an established intervention for adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis at risk of curve progression. Although longer wear is associated with better outcomes, uncertainty remains about whether a potentially effective minimum wear time can be identified. Objective: This critical literature review investigated whether evidence supported a potentially effective minimum brace wear time associated with clinically meaningful outcomes in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Study design: Critical literature review. Methods: Searches covered seven electronic databases and information sources. After screening, targeted verification and reference-list checking, 20 studies were retained for the main synthesis. Data were extracted using a 37-field framework, and the main-synthesis studies were appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklists. Narrative synthesis was used because studies differed in brace protocol, wear-time measurement, outcome definition and analytical approach. Results: Evidence supported a dose-related association between brace wear and clinically meaningful outcomes more strongly than a universal minimum daily value. Greater wear, better adherence and more regular use were associated with reduced Cobb angle progression, curve stabilisation or improvement, treatment success, non-progression or lower risk of reaching a surgical threshold. Findings differed across full-time, reduced-hour, high-hour and night-time protocols. Interpretation was influenced by skeletal maturity, baseline Cobb angle, curve pattern, in-brace correction, brace type, outcome definition and measurement method. Objective monitoring provided stronger evidence than self-report or documentation. Review-level quality judgements informed by JBI classified 12 studies as moderate quality and eight as low quality. Conclusion: Brace wear time is clinically important, but the evidence did not support one universal minimum daily value. Reported numerical values should be used as protocol-specific reference points to guide prescription review, patient counselling and adherence monitoring rather than as directly transferable prescriptions. Interpretation should also consider patient progression risk, brace design, actual adherence, corrective response and confidence in the evidence.11 0Item Restricted Machine Learning–Based Breathing Pattern Recognition and Tidal Volume Estimation with Calibration-Free Wearable Belt Sensors(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Alsagri, Reem Abdallah; Katayoun, Farrahi; Neil, White; Adriana, WildeThis thesis investigates the use of wearable respiratory sensing technologies for breathing pattern recognition and tidal-volume estimation in real-world conditions. Respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) require timely and repeated assessment; however, gold-standard tools, including spirometry and plethysmography, are costly, clinic-bound, and unsuitable for continuous long-term monitoring. A systematic literature review identified a key gap in the availability of affordable, easy-to-wear, and calibration-free systems capable of recognising breathing patterns and detecting early deterioration outside laboratory settings. Consultations with respiratory clinicians further confirmed the clinical value of such a solution. Three wearable sensing modalities — Respiratory Inductance Plethysmography (RIP), force-based sensors, and piezoelectric (PZT) sensors — were evaluated through staged validation, including self-testing, pilot studies, and large-scale data collection involving 104 participants, comprising patients and community subjects with spirometry reference measurements. Respiratory signals were recorded across multiple natural breathing tasks and processed using a complete analytical pipeline including signal cleaning, preprocessing, feature extraction, and exploratory analysis. Multiple machine learning models, including Support Vector Machines, k-Nearest Neighbours, and Neural Networks, were trained for breathing-pattern classification and tidal-volume estimation. Results demonstrate strong performance for task-related breathing pattern recognition, with near-perfect classification achieved in many models (F1-score up to 100%). Normal versus abnormal breathing detection achieved F1-scores ranging from 70–100%. Multi-class classification of eupneic, obstructive, and restrictive patterns was more challenging, with best F1-scores of 81.3% for RIP and 72.7% for PZT, while force sensors showed task-dependent performance with peak results of 81.8% during walking. Wearable sensors also enabled calibration-free tidal volume estimation with low mean absolute error (RIP ≈ 0.187, PZT ≈ 0.178, force ≈ 0.226). Overall, the findings demonstrate the feasibility of using wearable respiratory sensors — traditionally applied for respiratory rate monitoring — to additionally classify breathing patterns and estimate tidal volume in real-world environments. This work establishes practical foundations for developing wearable respiratory monitoring systems to support remote healthcare, pulmonary rehabilitation, and early detection of respiratory deterioration.4 0Item Restricted School Leadership and Teacher Motivation in Selected Saudi Arabian Primary Schools(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Alotaybi, Meshal; Bush, Tony; Fuller, KayResearch on leadership styles and job motivation has gained significant attention in recent years, primarily because of their pivotal relationships in fostering effective work environments and improving student outcomes. However, the impact of school leadership on teacher motivation has not been studied sufficiently in the Saudi context. While there has been an increase in studies on these topics globally, research in the Arab Gulf region remains limited. This gap underscores the need for this research on the relationship between school leadership and teacher motivation in Saudi Arabia. This study aims to understand how the practices of school leaders influence teacher motivation in selected primary schools in Saudi Arabia. It specifically examines the relationship between school leadership and teacher motivation across four different types of primary schools in Jeddah. The study also explores the levels of teacher motivation in these schools, the perspectives of school leaders on teacher motivation, and effective strategies for enhancing motivation among teachers. It also identifies the factors that motivate and demotivate teachers in each type of school, while investigating the similarities and differences among them. This research uses a multiple case-study design to examine the relationship between school leadership and teacher motivation in four different types of boys’ primary school in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. By employing multiple case studies, the research enables cross-case analysis, highlighting both the differences and similarities among the four schools. The study gathers data from 40 participants, including school principals, principal’s assistants, and teachers across all case studies, allowing for a variety of perspectives. This approach ensures a comprehensive view of the topics being investigated and enhances respondent triangulation. To thoroughly explore the relationship between school leadership and teacher motivation, the study involved semi-structured interviews and document reviews. The study found a positive relationship between school leadership and teacher motivation across four different schools. Participants unanimously agreed that motivating teachers is crucial for enhancing their performance and improving student learning. The findings show that most teachers in these schools demonstrated high levels of motivation due to supportive school leadership, altruism, and religious influence. The study explores the factors influencing teacher motivation and identifies both positive and negative elements at different levels. A key intrinsic factor is the school culture and supportive environment that promotes positive relationships between school leaders and teachers, while the main extrinsic factors include salary increases, provision of incentives, and improvement in resources. Islamic leadership and cultural values within the Saudi context play an important role in fostering positive relationships and motivating teachers. The study provides valuable insights that can shape leadership policies and practices while guiding future research in the region. It shows that effective school leadership significantly affects teacher motivation. To enhance their leadership practices and boost teacher motivation, the study recommends increasing support and granting greater autonomy to school leaders. Additionally, the study outlines essential strategies for school leaders to enhance teacher motivation. It highlights that collaborative leadership practices, including encouraging shared decision-making and creating a cooperative environment, can significantly increase teacher motivation.6 0