Information plays a significant role in the success of investment strategies. Within a non-advisory context, individual investors elect to build and manage their investment portfolios to avoid the cost of hiring professional advisors. To cope with markets’ uncertainty, individual investors should acquire, understand, and use only relevant information, but that task can be affected by many factors, such as domain knowledge, cognitive and emotional biases, information overload, sources’ credibility, communication channels’ accuracy, and economic costs. Despite an increased interest in examining the financial performance of individual investors in Saudi Arabia, there has been no empirical research of the information behavior of individual investors, or the behavioral biases affecting the investment decision making process in the Saudi stock market (SSM). The purpose of this study was to examine this information behavior within a non-advisory contextualization of their investment decision-making process through the use of an online questionnaire instrument using close-ended questions. The significant intervening variables identified in this study influence the individual investors’ information behavior across many stages of the decision making process. While controlling for gender, education, and income, the optimal information behavior of individual investors in the SSM showed that the Experience factor had the greatest negative effect on …

The problem of this study was the lack of knowledge about user satisfaction with the library services which are provided at the library of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Saudi Arabia. The purposes of the study were twofold: (1) to measure, evaluate, and analyze user satisfaction with the library services provided at the MFA Library for the employees; and (2) to develop a model for evaluation of user satisfaction of library services in government libraries in Saudi Arabia.

The problem was to define the present status of the Social Research Studies and Information Center libraries in Saudi Arabia and to suggest ways in which they could be improved. The purposes of the study were two-fold: (1) to analyze and evaluate the current status of these libraries and to develop and improve the role and functions of these libraries; and (2) to consider the possibility of cooperation between these libraries.

The concept of the invisible college is a key focus of scientific communication research with many studies on this topic in the literature. However, while such studies have contributed to an understanding of the invisible college, they have not adequately explained the interaction of social and structural processes in this phenomenon. As a consequence, past research has described the invisible college differently based on researchers’ perspectives, resulting in misinterpretations or inconsistent definitions of the relevant social and structural processes. Information science and related disciplines have focused on the structural processes that lead to scholarly products or works while placing less emphasis on the social processes. To advance understanding of the invisible college and its dimensions (including both social processes and structural processes), a proposed model (Modern Invisible College Model, MICM) has been built based on the history of the invisible college and Lievrouw’s (1989) distinction between social and structural processes. The present study focuses on the social processes of informal communication between scholars via social media, rather than on the structural processes that lead to scholarly products or works. A developed survey and an employed quantitative research method were applied for data collection. The research population involved 77 scholars from …

Every year many immigrant families become members of United States communities. Among these are international graduate students whose lives and identities, as well as those of their families, are changed as they negotiate between cultures and experiences. In this study, three Saudi graduate students share their stories about culture, education and literacy. This research employs narrative inquiry to answer the following question: What stories do Saudi immigrant students tell regarding their educational beliefs and experiences, as well as the experiences of their children in the U.S. and in Saudi Arabia? The participants' interview texts are the main data source. The three-dimensional narrative inquiry spaces of temporality, sociality, and place help identify the funds of knowledge in place throughout these narratives. Data analysis uses funds of knowledge as a theoretical lens to make visible the critical events in each narrative. These events point to themes that support the creation of a third space in which the participants negotiate being in two cultures as well as their storying across time to understand their own experiences. Themes of facing challenges, problem solving, adaptation, and decision-making connect these stories and support the discussion of findings within the personal, practical, and social justifications for this …

Cyber aggression came about as a result of advances in information communication technology and the aggressive usage of the technology in real life. Cyber aggression can take on many forms and facets. However, the main focus of this study is cyberbullying and cyberstalking through information sharing practices that might constitute digital aggressive acts. Human aggression has been extensively investigated. Studies focusing on understanding the causes and effects that can lead to physical and digital aggression have shown the prevalence of cyber aggression in different settings. Moreover, these studies have shown strong relationship between cyber aggression and the physiological and physical trauma on both perpetrators and their victims. Nevertheless, the literature shows a lack of studies that could measure the level of acceptance and tolerance of these dangerous digital acts. This study is divided into two main stages; Stage one is a qualitative pilot study carried out to explore the concept of cyber aggression and its existence in Saudi Arabia. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 Saudi social media users to collect understanding and meanings of cyber aggression. The researcher followed the Colaizzi’s methods to analyze the descriptive data. A proposed model was generated to describe cyber aggression in social media …

This research studied the relationship between social capital and household resilience. In particular, how bonding and bridging relationships affect household resilience was the question selected to illustrate this relationship between social capital and household resilience. Moreover, how the vulnerability of household impacts household resilience was also empirically examined. Social capital theory and vulnerability paradigm studies were used to discover explanations for why and how social connectedness and social vulnerabilities impact household resilience. Survey questionnaires were used to collect data in the main two cities in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh and Jeddah. A cross-sectional design was used to collect data. Statistical descriptions and inferences were conducted. In fact, multiple linear regression, T-test, and one way ANOVA were the three principal technics used to make statistical inferences. This study empirically found evidence there are relationships between bonding relationships and household resilience, and also relationships between the economic level of the household and household resilience. However, no evidence was found for relationships between bridging relationships and household resilience, or between other vulnerability factors and household resilience. Other vulnerability factors included gender, minority group, and language.

This was an ethnographic study of the woven tent objects produced by the Bedouin Otaibah tribe in Najd, central Saudi Arabia; the study examines origin, techniques, character and significance of their weavings. A major objective of the researcher was to discern the relationship between the weavers' development of traditions and the factors of technique, medium and perceived meaning. The method used was investigative fieldwork that included techniques of face to face interviews and participant observation. Interviews with 50 Bedouin female weavers in Najd were conducted for 8 months. Background information on the Otaibah tribe and their traditional way of life was provided. The review of the literature of traditional arts, folk arts and art education illustrates that there is limited accessible information concerning the general history of traditional arts in Saudi Arabia. A discussion of the aesthetic value, definitions and roles of traditional art, tribal art and the differences between art and crafts was included. Analysis of data answered the study's questions through a presentation of the findings of the fieldwork. The Otaibah tribe has its own unique style of weaving. Information gathered from participant observation and documents from the Haifa Faisal Collection of Saudi Arabian Traditional Arts in Chicago …

The problem of the present study was to describe and analyze marketing in Saudi Arabia and American marketing executives' knowledge about the Saudi market. The purposes of the study were twofold: (1) to describe and analyze marketing in Saudi Arabia and (2) to determine what American marketing executives know about the Saudi Arabian market. This study employed both primary and secondary data. For the analysis of marketing in Saudi arabia, primarily secondary sources were used from the available literature. For the analysis of American marketing executives' knowledge about the Saudi Arabian market, primary sources were used in the form of American marketers' responses to a mailed questionnaire.

This comparative study assesses the state of democracy and examines the process of democratization in the Arab World between the years 1980-1993. It addresses shortcomings in the mainstream democracy literature that excluded the Arab World from the global democratic revolution on political cultural grounds. To fulfil the objectives of this study, I employ both the qualitative and quantitative research approaches to test a number of hypothesized relationships. I hypothesize that transition to democracy is negatively associated with economic development, militarism, U.S. foreign policy, the political economy of oil, and dependency. I contend that emerging civil society institutions so far have had no significant effect on democratization in the Arab World. Finally, I hypothesize that the level of democracy in the Arab World is influenced greatly by the issue of civil rights. In order to investigate the hypothesized relationships, the following data sets have been used: Gastil's Freedom House Data set, "Repression and Freedom in the 1980s" data set, and Vanhanen's 1990 data set. The findings of this study support the aforementioned hypothesized relationships. I find that Arab countries, in general have made modest progress toward democracy, making the Arab World part of the global revolution.

The global increase in the number of mass gatherings and crowded events has brought with it new emergencies and unintended consequences for public administrators and first responders. Crowd managers attempt to overcome these challenges by enhancing operations, alleviating financial losses, keeping event organizers safe from liability and, most importantly, keeping the attendees safe. Effective communication among and between officials and guests has been identified as a key element in this process. However, there is a lack of risk communication studies, especially about heterogeneous crowds that congregate at religious events. With this gap in mind, this research aims to investigate the use of major communication channels available and/or preferred by Muslim pilgrims in Makkah, Saudi Arabia during Hajj to gauge their effectiveness in communicating risk information. This annual religious pilgrimage was chosen because it attracts over 2 million pilgrims from more than 140 countries, most of whom speak different languages and belong to different cultures but perform the same rituals at the same time. This dissertation seeks to answer three broad research questions: “what are the most popular communication channels used by pilgrims,” “what are the weaknesses of the current communication strategies,” and “what can be done to improve risk communication …

Paper explores the behavior of buyers in Saudi Arabia who are using Instagram to purchase from businesses that use Instagram as their only platform for commerce.

A report which records the Paleocene vertebrates, stratigraphy, and environment of deposition in the Jabal Umm Himar area.

A report about fossils in Saudi Arabia. The report discusses locality, higher taxon, and specimens within the taxon from a given locality.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the evolution and development of the field of public administration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Factors which brought about programs of public administration and which have been influential in the development of these programs were analyzed. Although the historical roots of Saudi public administration are traced to the recapture of Riyadh by the late King Abdulaziz Al-Saud in 1902, modern public administration in the Kingdom actually began in 1953 with a royal decree which established the Council of Ministers. Factors that led to the establishment of the Institute of Public Administration and the birth of public administration programs at major Saudi universities include the country's rapid socioeconomic growth, rapid administrative expansion, and policies of administrative reform, higher education development, and the ambitious Five-Year Plans. Despite the fact that attention to the field of public administration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia dates back to the establishment of the College of Commerce at King Saud University in 1959, the real start of teaching public administration in Saudi universities is considered recent. The field of public administration is paralleled with the establishment of the Departments of Public Administration in King Abdulaziz University in …

The problem of this study concerns the needs of female students and their perceptions of satisfaction with the role of the two female institutions of higher education in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: King Abdul-Aziz University (KAU) and the College of Education for Girls.

The problem with which this study is concerned is to determine and identify the factors associated with the choices Arab graduate students make when selecting their graduate school and major area of study at institutions of higher education in the United States. In addition, comparisons are made between the responses of Arab graduate students (1) who attend American private schools with those who attend American public schools and (2) those who are self-supported with those who are outside supported.

This dissertation aims to examine the relationship between interorganizational collaboration and the implementation of urban greening policy. Specifically, it discusses bonding and bridging relationships that explain a successful interorganizational collaboration, and to what extent these factors explain the perception of success in the implementation of public programs. The effects of risks of collaboration on the implementation of urban greening policy are also studied. To frame the analysis, this dissertation uses Feiock's institutional collective action (ICA) framework, which aims to understand successful interorganizational collaboration and policy implementation across sectors. The collection of data was carried out in Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia, which is located in the center of Saudi Arabia. In this study, the unit of analysis is the networks of relationships among organizations that work with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC). The data were obtained from 44 organizations collaborating to implement urban greening projects in Riyadh City and were collected over 17 days from June 15, 2019 to July 2, 2019. The sampling technique used in this study was snowball sampling. The main statistical methods employed for hypothesis examination were social network analysis (SNA) and ordinary least squares (OLS). The key empirical results indicated that there were …

There are a considerable number of Saudi Arabian students who attend U.S. schools. To date, no published studies exist that relate to the Saudi Arabian students, their families, and how they acculturate to the American society. Acculturation affects parents and children in different ways, and it can affect the way parents raise their children. Using semi–structured interviews, this study examined Saudi mothers' perspectives on acculturation to American society and how those perspectives affect their childrearing beliefs and their children's behaviors. The descriptive qualitative study acknowledges mothers' perceptions about adaptation of Saudi children to American society and if those parents observe behavioral changes in their children. The results showed there are some changes that occurred regarding parental beliefs of parents due to acculturation, but there were not any behavioral problems caused by acculturation to the American culture in the Saudi children.

The purpose of this study was to describe in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers' (a) philosophies of education before and after an issues-based art education (IBAE) workshop, (b) perceptions of the IBAE workshop and its products, (c) perception of the importance of IBAE approach, reasons, topics, and challenges after the workshop, and (d) perception of IBAE within the Saudi Arabian context. A mixed-methods approach was followed. The qualitative portion of the study utilized a post-workshop questionnaire and reflective essay completed by 37 participants, and personal teaching journal protocol and focus group discussion from 18 participants who attended the workshop and implemented the IBAE lesson in their classrooms. Analysis of the data confirmed that art teachers' perspectives towards IBAE positively increased after attending the IBAE workshop. Specifically, in the quantitative findings, participants indicated a positive attitude toward the teaching philosophy of social reconstruction after the IBAE workshop. These results demonstrate that the tenets of social reconstruction align with the IBAE approach. In addition, the quantitative data suggests that teacher participants' overall perception of the importance of addressing social issues in the art curriculum was positive, with 91.9% of respondents agreeing. Overall the qualitative findings, indicated a positive attitude toward the IBAE …

This study has been primarily concerned with the pattern of economic development and the role of the multinational corporations (MNC's) in that process in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Two contrasting theoretical frameworks were adopted to assess the pattern of economic development followed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 1970 through 1983. The first theoretical perspective is the neoclassical approach to economic development which postulates that the productive resources at the disposal of a country and the institutions developed to guide the prudent use of them are paramount to a balanced development. On the other hand, Hymer's contrasting perspective is based on the Law of Uneven Development. Essentially, Hymer claimed that inequality is built into the growth mechanisms of the present day world capitalist economic system that shapes the international economy through the agency of the multinational corporations. Therefore, any involvement by the MNC's is necessarily hierarchical, and characterized by dominance and dependence as well as wealth and poverty, particularly between the industrial countries of Western Europe and North America and the less developed countries in the Third World societies. Ironically, the Saudi Arabian case shows that Hymer's Law of Uneven Development is questionable. First, instead of the location …

The study is undertaken for a more compressive understanding for organizational theory and its applicability to tendency towards improvisation during emergency times among individuals in Non Profit Organizations (NPOs) in Saudi Arabia. The analysis involved an examination of direct effect of learning on tendency towards improvisation and possible mediating effects between organizational learning and tendency towards improvisation among individuals in NPOs, while controlling for key demographic differences (e.g. individuals’ age, education level and years in service, number of full-time staff and volunteers). Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to full-time employees in 13 NPOs in three cities in the western area of Saudi Arabia, namely Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah (N= 304). The main statistical method employed to hypotheses examination was Structural Equation Modeling. The hypothesis examination resulted in three out of five hypnotized paths are to be significant. Two direct relations were interpreted as outcomes of organizational learning, with increases in the level of organizational learning is being positively related to individuals’ self –efficacy and agility. The third significant path interpreted as individuals’ agility is positively related to their tendency to improvise during emergency times, which indicates organizational learning has indirect effect on tendency towards improvisation. Finally, the applicability of organizational learning …

Previous research on framing has proved its strong effects on the social perception and political preferences of individuals. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore how Saudi women's issues have been framed in a sample of United States and Saudi newspapers. Saudi Vision 2030 is the post-oil plan for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that was announced on April 25, 2016. The sample of this thesis was 300 news stories from eight newspapers. The U.S. newspapers were the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. The Saudi newspapers were Al Riyadh, Okaz, Al Jazirah, and Al Watan. This thesis explores how these issues have been covered before and after Saudi Vision 2030 by answering five basic questions. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze the news stories. For the quantitative analysis, five pre-defined generic frames from Semetko and Valkenburg were adopted: conflict frame, human interest frame, morality frame, economic consequences frame, and responsibility frame. An inductive approach to find the new frames was used for the qualitative analysis. Moreover, this thesis looked at how U.S. and Saudi newspapers have visually framed Saudi women through an analysis of the types …

Individuals with different personal demographics and job-based factors have different attitudes and behaviors, which can influence their levels of commitment to their organizations. These differences in organizational commitment increase as their cultural backgrounds differ significantly. Personal demographics and job-related factors are reliable predictors of employees' commitment to their employing organizations. The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate if there is a difference in the level of employees' commitment to Saudi petrochemical companies on the basis of differences in their personal demographics and job-related factors.