• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제8권7호
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• pp.557-569
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• 2021

The study investigates the impact of strategic planning (SP) factors on service quality (SQ) in private universities (PUs) in Oman and how they fit together in the development of higher education institutions (HEIs). The reports of the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) in Oman revealed that the service quality in private universities is unsatisfactory. This study employs a quantitative method. Data were collected from a sample of 730 academics and administrators. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on AMOS software was applied for data analysis. The results of the structural paths showed that, among the strategic planning factors, only environmental scanning and leadership had a direct significant impact on service quality. However, mission statement and participation had insignificant direct impact on service quality. The findings suggest that environmental scanning and leadership are critical factors in predicting service quality dimensions of private universities. The findings add to the body of knowledge particularly in the Omani context, which can be useful in the neighboring countries as well. The study combines two different popular models in addressing service quality. The study also clarified the importance of each factor of the strategic planning process, which give a comprehensive picture of the university.

• International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.23-55
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• 2017

Omani citizens participate in building the culture of democracy through the implementation of the legal deposit or the Law of Printing and Publishing. Legal deposit is the law that requires individuals and agencies who are responsible for printing and applying the law in Oman, whether they are publishers, printing houses or authors, to submit certain copies of their work or publications to a repository, usually a library. The present study aims to explore the reality of the Omani Law of Printing and Publishing and discover how the law defines the term "publications". In addition to the role of this law in building the Omani culture of democracy, the study uses an interpretive research paradigm of applied unstructured interviews and content analysis. Twenty-four printing houses were interviewed. The findings determined that definition of the term "publications", according to the law, is very general and covers different items, and the Law of Printing and Publishing plays an essential role in the building of Oman's culture of democracy. The study also found that all of the printing houses interviewed participated in creating the Omani culture by depositing the requested copies of their publications, although four of them had negative beliefs about the law of "Printing and Publishing". In addition, the study found (19=79.1%) of the sample interpreted the term "culture of democracy" in a positive way.

• 미국학
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• 제42권1호
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• pp.57-97
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• 2019

This study seeks to reveal why the U.S. House Democrats showed different levels of support in the voting of the U.S.-Morocco FTA, U.S.-Bahrain FTA, and U.S.-Oman FTA. Existing studies focusing on the constituency or members' ideology do not properly account for the variance of these three FTA voting results. All of these FTAs, however, were promoted as a part of the president's foreign policies. If so, FTA support in Congress could depend on representatives' evaluation of the presidential foreign policy. Based on this, the study analyzes how representatives' evaluation of President Bush's foreign policy changed according to the period of the three FTA votes. The vote on the FTAs has been influenced by their evaluation of the presidential foreign and national security policies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권7호
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• pp.2731-2737
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• 2015

Background: The majority of deaths from cancer occur in low and middle income countries, partly due to poor public awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer. Materials and Methods: A community based survey using the Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM) questionnaire was conducted in three different communities in Oman. Omani adults aged 18 years and above were invited to participate in the study. Results: A total of 345 responded from 450 invited participants (response rate=76.7%). The majority of respondents were unable to identify the common signs and symptoms of cancer identified in the CAM (average awareness was 40.6%). The most emotional barrier to seeking help was worry about what the doctor might find (223, 64.6%); a practical barrier was too busy to make an appointment (259, 75.1%) and a service barrier was difficulty talking to the doctor (159, 46.1%). The majority of respondents (more than 60% for seven out of ten symptoms) would seek medical help in two weeks for most signs or symptoms of cancer. Females were significantly more likely than males to be embarrassed (p<0.001), scared (p=0.001), and lack confidence talking about their symptoms (p=0.022). Conclusions: Urgent strategies are needed to improve public awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer in Oman. This might leads to earlier diagnosis, improved prognosis and reduced mortality from cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권12호
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• pp.4853-4858
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• 2015

Background: Colorectal cancer is the most common gastrointestinal cancer in Oman with an increasing incidence. We here report the presenting features, treatment outcomes and survival in a University hospital in Oman and compare our data with regional and international studies. Materials and Methods: Medical records of patients with colorectal cancer were reviewed retrospectively between June 2000 and December 2013 and were followed until June 2014. Results: A total of 162 patients were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The majority were males (58.6%), with a median age of 56 years. Rectum was involved in 29.6% of patients, followed by ascending and sigmoid colon. The majority of patients had stage III (42.6%) and stage IV (32.7%) disease at presentation. K-Ras status was checked for 79 patients, and 41 (51.9%) featured the wild type. Median relapse free survival was 22 months. Median overall survival for all patients was 43 months. Observed 5 year overall survival (OS) for stages I, II and III was 100%, 60% and 60% respectively. On Log rank univariate analysis, age, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, metformin use, stage, clinical nodal status for rectal cancer, pathological T and nodal status, site of metastasis, surgical intervention, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy regimen, no of cycles of chemotherapy, response, RFS, site of recurrence and administration of $2^{nd}$ line chemotherapy were significant factors affecting OS. On Cox regression multivariate analysis none of the factors independently affected the OS. Conclusions: The majority of patients present with advanced disease and at young age. The survival rates are comparable to the published regional and international literature.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권11호
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• pp.4867-4868
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• 2016

Prostatic adenocarcinoma is the commonest solid malignancy seen in Omani elderly males 60-80 years of age. The Gleason grade is the most widely used grading system for prostatic carcinoma and is recommended by the World Health Organization. A peer review was carried out at the Pathology Department of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), Oman, to assess the quality of reporting at the center. The aim of this study was to determine inter-observer variation among 7 pathologists working at a tertiary care center in Oman. A total of 47 consecutive prostatic biopsies were interdependently reviewed by seven pathologists and the results obtained were compared with each other and the original diagnosis. This peer review indicated a fair inter-observer agreement (0.482) among 7 pathologists in the department, with fair to moderate agreement when the results were compared to the reported diagnosis, comparable to the published literature. Dual and sub-specialty reporting are being instituted to improve the performance in this vital aspect of pathology.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.19-23
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• 2017

It is undisputable that crude oil and its price fluctuations are major components that affect most of the countries' economies. Recent studies have demonstrated that beside the impact that crude oil price fluctuations have on common macroeconomic indicators like gross domestic product (GDP), inflation rates, exchange rates, unemployment rate, etc., it also has a strong influence on stock markets and their performance. This relationship has been examined in a number of settings, but it is yet to be unraveled in the Omani context. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study is to examine the possible effect of the oil price fluctuations on stock price movements. The study applies Toda and Yamamoto's (1995) Granger non-causality test on the daily Oman stock index (Muscat Securities Market Index) and oil prices between the period of 2 January 2003 and 13 March 2016. The results indicated that the oil price fluctuations have a significant impact on stock index movements. However, the stock price movements do not have a significant impact on oil prices. These findings have significant implications not only for the Omani economy but also for the economy of similar countries, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The latter should carefully consider their policies and strategies regarding crude oil production and the generated income allocation as it might potentially affect the financial markets performance in these countries.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제7권9호
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• pp.811-824
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• 2020

The aim of this study is to explore the effect of injustice perception on work alienation and the mediating role played by the employee's cynicism between injustice perception and work alienation in the healthcare sector in Oman. By utilizing a simple random sampling technique, data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of 306 nurses working in private healthcare providing organizations in Oman. The collected data was then analyzed using AMOS program through the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results of study show that the levels of perception of injustice and cynicism of nurses in the private healthcare centers were low, while the work alienation was found to be at moderate level in these healthcare organizations. The findings of the empirical study reveal that injustice perception and employee's cynicism significantly affect work alienation. The impact of injustice perception in creating employee's cynicism was also observed. The hypothesis that the mediating role played by employee's cynicism in injustice perception and work alienation relationship was partially supported. Moreover, injustice perception and cynicism directly affect work alienation, therefore, these hospitals should consider organizational policies and procedures to achieve equality and justice among nursing personnel, and to eliminate the factors that cause cynicism and work alienation.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.281-289
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• 2020

This research analyses the challenges facing SMEs in Oman in their quest for internationalization. The study is based on the OECD Model of Internationalization put forward in the report titled "How to Foster the Internationalization of SMEs through the Pacific Alliance Integration Process" which focuses on four factors namely finance, business environment, firm capabilities and market access, which are appropriate for an emerging economy like Oman. This study used a descriptive and quantitative research design in attempting to analyze the challenges being faced by Omani SMEs in their endeavors to internationalize. The research investigates causal relationship between variables using positivist and deductive approach. Data collected from 102 respondents was analysed by Structural Equation Modeling(SEM) using AMOS. It was found that finance availability was the most significant predictor of internationalization challenges followed by market access and business environment, while firm capabilities had no impact. Thus SMEs need easier access to credit and have to develop their international business networks and their marketing capabilities in order to grow internationally. Keeping in mind the contribution made by SMEs the government has to intervene by opening up easy lines of credit to SME exporters and allowing them relaxations in customs and other duties.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제7권8호
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• pp.473-483
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• 2020

Internationalization of SMEs has gathered pace in recent times with falling trade barriers and rising world trade encouraging small firms to seek profits and growth in foreign markets. This has attracted the attention of researchers, and several studies have been conducted in Western nations on the factors influencing the process of SME internationalization. However, hardly any study has been done on SME internationalization in the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) region, thus leaving a gap in the literature. This study investigates the influence of four factors, namely, human capital, network competency, entrepreneurial orientation, and market volatility on the degree of internationalization of SMEs in Oman. The study employs survey data collected from 150 SME owners and managers using a structured questionnaire having 27 items, and has been analyzed using correlation and logistic regression, as the dependent variable is binary in nature. The results reveal the impact of the chosen variables on the degree of internationalization of SMEs. The findings of the study suggest that network competency has the highest impact on degree of internationalization of Omani SMEs, followed by human capital and entrepreneurial orientation, while market volatility, though insignificant, moderated the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and degree of internationalization of Omani SMEs.