• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.9-13
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• 2019

The paper aims to investigate the performance of domestic Saudi Arabian ETFs. ETFs are investment vehicles in vogue. These instruments were the first levers for investors allowing them to enter some markets that have been highly protected or out of reach. Saudi Arabia, which has been promoted as an emerging country by MSCI, seeks to attract more foreign investors. The first ETFs were launched in the years 2010-2011. Even though their number has not increased since then, there is a desire to attract a large number of investors. We use premiums/discounts analysis, standard risk-return models, and tracking errors measurements to assess how closely their replicate the underlying benchmark based on monthly data. The results indicate that out of the three funds investigated two are slightly traded at premium, while the latter exhibit a price discount. However, tracking errors are at minimum for all funds suggesting that they track well the benchmark index. Further, the Jensen's model shows that alphas are negative or null, and betas capture largely the systematic risk which is consistent with index investing strategies. Finally, traditional risk-adjusted measures of performance are used to compare ETFs, and results exhibit negative ratios showing that portfolios achieve lower return than the risk-free rate.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제8권5호
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• pp.151-156
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• 2021

This paper empirically examines the relationship between one of the major corporate governance attributes; family ownership and the audit committee activity across a sample of 430 publicly traded firms on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) for the period 2012-2019. Using the Pooled OLS regression, this study finds that family ownership is negatively associated with audit committee activity. This study reported that family ownership is negatively associated with audit committee activity, giving support to the convergence-of-interest hypothesis. Therefore, the existence of family ownership as a monitoring corporate governance mechanism substitutes the audit committee activity as another monitoring mechanism. This study provides empirical evidence on the associations of two internal corporate governance mechanisms, namely; family ownership and audit committee activity in the Saudi context where there is a paucity of research in this area. The findings of this study provide a new understanding regarding the extent to which family ownership impacts the activity of audit committees in manufacturing companies. Similarly, the companies' management, external auditors, bankers, and companies would also benefit from understanding the influential factors of the audit committee activities.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• 제22권10호
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• pp.315-321
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• 2022

Many students with disabilities and special needs are enrolled in higher education, which substantiated the need for research regarding faculty members' knowledge and willingness to implement supportive strategies in higher education in Saudi Arabia. This study explored Saudi university faculty members' knowledge and willingness to apply UDL (Universal Design for Learning) principles in their teaching practice. Surveys were used for data collection for this descriptive research. The findings indicated faculty members felt that they were knowledgeable regarding UDL and were willing to use UDL principles in teaching their students. Furthermore, there were no statistically significant differences between faculty members' knowledge levels regarding UDL based on their current position and years of experience. The findings indicated there was a significant relationship between gender and knowledge, with males having a significantly higher mean knowledge, although further analyses revealed it was a small effect. Finally, the results suggest more years of experience are related to greater willingness to use UDL principles, and this is particularly true for those in a lecturing position. These findings could be helpful, particularly for the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia to shed light on faculty members' UDL knowledge. Further research is needed to substantiate the findings.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• 제23권6호
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• pp.59-67
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• 2023

The healthcare industry continues to adopt and integrate smart technology in its operations, from medical devices to managing operations. However, the adoption curve has not been smooth, and the historical record of technology adoption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reveals the existence of both known and unknown issues. This review paper is aimed to explain the influences and barriers present in the Saudi healthcare sector affecting IoT technology adoption. A comprehensive discussion of the literature illustrated that Vision 2030, the privatisation trend, transformation in disease patterns and ageing, issues in management and increasing public awareness are the key drivers that may influence the need for the medical Internet of Things (mIoT) in Saudi healthcare. However, based on the past trend, the introduction and adoption of mIoT will likely experience issues such as noncompliance from doctors and nurses due to negative beliefs, lack of knowledge and inadequate perception of effort requirements. Thus, in-depth research of the factors associated with mIoT technology adoption is suggested for a smooth transition.

• 국제학술발표논문집
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• The 6th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• pp.491-495
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• 2015

This paper aims to provide some unique insights into the verification of organisational innovation diffusion through empirically identifying the major factors determining the level of organisational innovation diffusion. The paper presents a two-stage sequential mixed method analysis: structural equation modelling analysis and regression analysis. A questionnaire survey was administrated to a sample of 223 organisations operating in Saudi Arabia. The results suggest that participative culture and, technology availability and implementation would intensify organisational climate for innovation. The results revealed compelling evidence in support of the moderating role of technology on the relationship between country socio-culture and organisational climate for innovation. Equally important, organisational innovation characteristics could play a crucial role in the intention to adopt a particular innovation. Specifically, maintaining Saudi Arabian top management's status quo is an obstacle to organisational innovation diffusion. This paper expands and improves upon the current understanding of how organisational innovation diffusion, in particular the Project Management Office (PMO), can be accelerated. By focusing on the critical factors within the conceptual model, the paper depicts the crucial role of certain factors that could leverage improved organisational innovation diffusion outcomes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권11호
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• pp.4677-4681
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• 2014

Background: This study aimed to characterize the histopathological pattern of lymph node pathology among Saudi patients and to highlight the age and gender variations of these lesions as base line data. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data from lymph node biopsy specimens received at the Department of Pathology, King Fahad Hospital, Madinah, Saudi Arabia from January 2006 to December 2013. Results: Of the 289 lymph node biopsy specimens received, 154 (53.3%) were from males and 135 (46.7%) from females giving a male: female ratio of 1.14:1. Age of the patients ranged from 2.5 to 96 years with a mean age 33.9 years. The commonest lymph node group affected was the cervical (30.4%) followed by axillary (9.7%) and inguinal (8.7%). Malignant lymphoma [71 Hodgkin's disease (HD), 57 non Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)] 128 (44.3%), reactive hyperplasia 68 (23.5%), and tuberculosis 41 (14.2%) were the common causes of lymph node enlargement. While HD, reactive hyperplasia and tuberculosis were commonest in young adult patients (10-29 years old) and rare above the age of 50 years; NHL was the predominant cause of lymph node enlargement above 50 years. Conclusions: Lymph node biopsy plays an important role in establishing the cause of lymphadenopathy. Among the biopsied nodes, lymphomas were the most common (44.3%) followed by non-specific reactive hyperplasia (23.5%) and tuberculous lymphadenitis (14.2%).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권18호
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• pp.7673-7677
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• 2014

Background: Patients with long-standing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). Colon cancer risk in IBD increases with longer duration and greater anatomic extent of colitis, the presence of primary sclerosing cholangitis, family history of CRC and degree of inflammation of the bowel. This study aimed to characterize the histopathological pattern of benign colorectal diseases among Saudi patients and to highlight age and gender variations of lesions as base line data for future studies to investigate the link between benign/IBD and colorectal cancers in the local population. Materials and Methods: The materials consisted of 684 biopsies, reported as benign (excluding malignancies and polyps) at the Department of Pathology, King Fahad Hospital, Madinah, Saudi Arabia from January 2006 to December 2013. Data collected and entered in MS-Excel and were analyzed using SPSS-20. Results: Of 684 colorectal tissues reviewed, 408 specimens (59.6%) were from male patients and 276 specimens (40.4%) were from females giving a male: female ratio of 1.5:1. Age of the patients ranged from 4 to 75 years with a mean of 39.6 years. The most frequent histologic diagnosis was a chronic non specific proctocolitis followed by ulcerative colitis, accounting respectively for 52.6% and 31.7% of all cases. These were followed by Crohn's disease 22 (3.2%), ischemic bowel disease 20 (2.9%), diverticular disease 14 (2%), eosinophilic colitis 12 (1.7%) and solitary rectal ulcer 12 (1.7%). A minority of 21 patients (3.1%) were cases of acute nonspecific proctocolitis, schistosomiasis, tuberculosis, volvulus and pseudomembranous colitis. Conclusions: These data show that although chronic non specific proctocolitis and ulcerative colitis were the dominant diagnoses, Crohn's disease, ischemic bowel disease and diverticular disease also existed to a lesser extent and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of benign colorectal diseases. This study provides a base line data for future studies which would be taken up to investigate the link between benign/IBD and colorectal cancers in the local population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권7호
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• pp.3133-3137
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• 2014

Background: To determine the histopathological pattern of colorectal cancer (CRC) among Saudi patients with a view to determine various epidemiological and histopathological features of the disease. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively collected and analyzed the demographic and histopathological data of all the patients with CRC diagnosed at King Fahad Hospital, Madinah, Saudi Arabia over a period of 8 years from January 2006 to December 2013. Results: Of 324 cases of CRC reviewed, 200 cases (61.7%) were males while 124 cases (38.3%) were females giving a male to female ratio of 1.6: 1. Age of the patients ranged from 20 to 100 years with a mean age 57.9 years. The rectosigmoid region was the most frequent anatomical site (13.6%) involved and adenocarcinoma (88.6%) was the most common histopathological type. The majority of adenocarcinomas (87.3%) were moderately differentiated. A total of 47.8% of patients were in stage B and 43.5% of patients were in stage C of the Aster-Coller classification. Most patients (75.7%) presented with large size tumors. Lymphovascular invasion and lymph node metastasis were recorded in 67.9% and 43.6% of cases, respectively. Conclusions: Colorectal cancer is common in our environment and the majority of patients present late with an advanced stage. Screening programs regarding CRC should be enhanced to improve the outcome of the patients.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.210-216
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• 2020

Background: Among the different aims of medical education, the provision of society with skilled, professional, and knowledgeable healthcare workers who maintain and develop their expertise over a lifetime career is important. The achievement of this goal is linked with the professional development of both faculty members and healthcare workers. This study aims to measure the perception of faculty members regarding their views about the goals of faculty development programs, practices and activities, and factors that determine their achievement. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in multiple universities in the Western region of Saudi Arabia. The participants were given a pre-designed self-administered questionnaire generated from literature. The survey questionnaire consisted of three sections that were designed to assess the faculty members' perception on the faculty development program. Results: A total of 210 faculty members participated in the study. The most important perceived goal was to motivate teachers to become better teachers. The most important perceived practice was establishing a positive climate for teaching and learning. The most important perceived factor was skilled and dedicated staff support. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that faculty members have positive perceptions regarding all aspects of faculty development programs. This study will raise awareness regarding the importance of faculty development programs in sustaining educational vitality. We recommend the implementation and maintenance of comprehensive faculty development programs in Saudi universities.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권8호
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• pp.3377-3381
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• 2015

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the level of awareness and knowledge about signs and risk factors of oral cancer in the general population in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from Saudi adults aged 15 years and older. A total of 679 persons participated in the survey. Descriptive statistics were calculated and chi-square tests, t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to examine differences between groups. The significance level was set at p<0.05. Results: Only 53.6% of the participants had heard of oral cancer. Smoking and alcohol consumption were identified as the major risk factors by 81.7% and 56.3% of the participants, respectively. Only 22.2% and 18.2%, respectively, were able to correctly identify red and white lesions as early signs of oral cancer. Participants with less than high school education were significantly less aware, and had much less knowledge, of the signs and risk factors of oral cancer (p<0.05). Conclusions: This survey demonstrates a general lack of awareness among the public about oral cancer and a lack of knowledge about its signs and risk factors. There is a clear need to inform and educate the public in matters relating to the known risk factors associated with oral cancer. A media campaign informing the public about oral cancer is clearly required.