• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제32권5호
• /
• pp.513-521
• /
• 2023

Temperature is one of the most critical elements that influence the rutting and fatigue resistance of flexible pavements. Particularly in extreme hot regions in Saudi Arabia, high temperature would significantly reduce the rutting resistance of flexible pavements leading to reduction of pavement service life. Due to the impacts of global warming, average temperature in Saudi Arabia is expected to further increase by about 4℃ by the end of the 21st century. The substantial increase in average temperature will elevate the expected pavement maintenance and rehabilitation cost. This paper analyzes the structural effects of temperature on pavement using layered elastic analysis based on finite element techniques. The research team calculated the potential loss of pavement service life due to the projected temperature increase and climate change. The paper also analyzed potential impact of using carbon waste in asphalt concrete to tackle the derogatory impacts of temperature rise.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
• /
• 제23권2호
• /
• pp.96-100
• /
• 2023

In this paper, each inconsistency management process activities was addressed. In addition, a guideline to deal with inconsistency by viewpoints method are introduced. At the end of the paper you should have clear idea to support inconsistency management in future research and having good knowledge of inconsistency management process activities and research issues. Moreover, it gives the researcher ability to design new framework by using powerful concept in inconsistency management and viewpoint techniques. The paper is organized as follows: an introduction is presented in section one, section two contains process viewpoint, while section three includes the proposed model and conclusions are in section four.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제13권9호
• /
• pp.4245-4248
• /
• 2012

Background: Women make up half of the world's population, and comprise 20% of the world's one billion smokers. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of smoking among female medical students in comparison to female non-medical students, and to assess the importance of medical education and knowledge in decreasing the prevalence of smoking among female university students in Saudi Arabia. Method: We used a self-administered questionnaire to collect cross-sectional data from a randomly selected sample of 320 female students attending King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah. Medical students comprised 50% of the sample. Results: A total of 310 students (96.9%) completed and returned the questionnaire. The prevalence of smoking was higher in non-medical female students (4.2%) compared to medical female students (0.32%) (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of smoking is low among female medical students compared to female non-medical students, presumably because of their awareness, level of education, and knowledge of the risks to health associated with smoking. Our study highlights the need for increased knowledge, health education, and awareness of the risks of smoking to reduce smoking among female university students.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• 제7권12호
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2020

This study investigates the problem of outlier detection based on discrete wavelet transform in the context of time series data where the identification and treatment of outliers constitute an important component. An outlier is defined as a data point that deviates so much from the rest of observations within a data sample. In this work we focus on the application of the traditional method suggested by Tukey (1977) for detecting outliers in the closed price series of the Saudi Arabia stock market (Tadawul) between Oct. 2011 and Dec. 2019. The method is applied to the details obtained from the MODWT (Maximal-Overlap Discrete Wavelet Transform) of the original series. The result show that the suggested methodology was successful in detecting all of the outliers in the series. The findings of this study suggest that we can model and forecast the volatility of returns from the reconstructed series without outliers using GARCH models. The estimated GARCH volatility model was compared to other asymmetric GARCH models using standard forecast error metrics. It is found that the performance of the standard GARCH model were as good as that of the gjrGARCH model over the out-of-sample forecasts for returns among other GARCH specifications.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• 제7권6호
• /
• pp.297-304
• /
• 2020

This paper applies the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to compute the managerial efficiency of 30 insurance companies listed on the Saudi stock exchange for the duration of four years from 2015 to 2018. The companies taken as a sample of study included both conventional and Takaful insurance companies. The insurance sector of KSA is one of the largest sectors in the country, contributing a substantial percentage in the non-oil economy. Efficiency measurement and evaluation will provide a venue to introspect and benchmark frontiers to the sector. In the present study, we have utilized the basic Banker Charnes Cooper and Charnes Copper Rhodes models of DEA. Two inputs, namely, general & administrative expenses and policy & acquisition costs, and two outputs (Net premium earned and Investment Income & other incomes) were taken for efficiency calculations. The final outcomes of the study reveal that a good number of insurance companies operating in KSA are found to be efficient on managerial efficiency scale. Three firms remain the leader on the frontier of the managerial efficiency. And no company found with zero (0) efficiency or a negative efficiency. It is expected that the outcome of the study will provide benchmarks to managers and a road map to further improvement.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• 제7권8호
• /
• pp.259-268
• /
• 2020

The study investigates the association between CEO education and firm performance with a sample of 85 nonfinancial firms listed on the Saudi stock exchange during 2018 applying ordinary least squares method. CEO education is defined by three variables, the level of education, if the degree-granting institution is domestic or foreign, and if the highest degree is in management or other fields of study. Financial performance is measured by return on assets and return on equity. Firm size, age, liquidity and growth are introduced as control variables. The study shows that 58 CEOs of the firms studied are graduates, 38 have obtained their degree from a domestic institution and 44 have a management degree. Graduate CEOs are found to enhance performance. Graduating from a domestic institution influences performance positively. Management degree of CEO does not seem to impact performance. Firm size, liquidity and growth are positively associated with performance. Firm age does not explain performance differences of firms. Results are robust to performance measures. The findings of the study suggest that firms can benefit from a CEO hiring policy that emphasizes on the minimum qualification set as graduation or higher, education from a domestic institution and no undue weight on management qualification.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• 제8권1호
• /
• pp.733-739
• /
• 2021

This study investigates the relationships of energy firm-level characteristics, namely; firm size, firm leverage, and firm performance with board diligence among companies listed in Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) for the periods ranging from 2012 to 2019. The final sample of this study consists of 32 firm-year observations. A quantitative approach was adopted to test 3 specific hypotheses developed for the board diligence model. Using the Pooled OLS regression, this study finds that firm size and firm performance are negatively associated with board diligence. The results of this study indicate an insignificant association of firm leverage with board diligence. Besides, firm performance is related negatively to board diligence. This indicates that the board of companies with poor performance increases the number of its meetings because of the increased pressure on the board to improve its oversight operations and address the severe performance challenges. The increased number of board meetings observe the daily management of the company, increase the chances for discussions concerning the performance challenges, and come up with solutions faster. The directors are also likely to encounter heightened pressure to appear more engaged during a company's financial distress since lenders require a meeting of the board or with the board.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
• /
• 제21권6호
• /
• pp.222-230
• /
• 2021

Mobile wallets have been in continuous demand and developed over the past few years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several studies have examined user intentions and perspectives. This study develops a conceptual model combining behavioral factors with the technology acceptance model (TAM). The goal is to identify key factors that influence user's intention to adopt mobile payments. This study uses the TAM and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) models with additional factors. The additional factors are security, trust, facilitating conditions, and lifestyle compatibility. The study analyzes the results of a survey of 394 Saudi citizens conducted via an online survey. The results indicate that user attitudes and intentions are positively influenced by all of the factors. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, lifestyle compatibility, and facilitating conditions are direct predictors of user behavior in accepting mobile wallet payments. This study provides an empirical contribution to the literature on mobile payment acceptance on the effect of perceived usefulness and lifestyle compatibility. The results demonstrate that about 26% of the respondents started using mobile wallet services because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
• /
• 제8권4호
• /
• pp.361-378
• /
• 2021

While the pavement rating system is being utilized for periodic road condition assessment in the Eastern Region municipality of Saudi Arabia, the condition assessment is costly, time-consuming, and not comprehensive as only few parts of the road are randomly selected for the assessment. Thus, this study is aimed at developing a condition assessment model for a specific sample of a residential road network in Dammam City based on an individual road and a road network. The model was developed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) according to the defect types and their levels of severity. The defects were arranged according to four categories: structure, construction, environmental, and miscellaneous, which was adopted from sewer condition coding systems. The developed model was validated by municipality experts and was adjudged to be acceptable and more economical compared to results from the Eastern region municipality (Saudi Arabia) model. The outcome of this paper can assist with the allocation of the government's budget for maintenance and capital programs across all Saudi municipalities through maintaining road infrastructure assets at the required level of services.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제16권15호
• /
• pp.6799-6799
• /
• 2015