The transferability and the applicability of marketing know-how to developing countries : an empirical study in the Saudi manufacturing sector

For two decades, although there has been agreement among marketing researchers that marketing has an important role to play in the development process in any country, there has been an ongoing debate about the question of the transferability of modern marketing knowledge from developed countries to developing countries come under this category social-cultural setting. Moreover, the situation of marketing in some developing countries is not clear, and Gulf Corporation Council Countries are concluded. The researcher has attempted to establish a link between these two issues and fill this gap by undertaking this study. Therefore, this research attempts to extend the application of marketing know-how (concepts and activities) in companies in the Saudi manufacturing sector. Overall, the results of this research indicate that the majority of manufacturing companies in the Saudi manufacturing sector apply marketing activities on a regular basis and that marketing managers perceive the usefulness of marketing in their companies. The analysis showed that a number of marketing manager's characteristics have a relationship between them and the application of marketing activities. Higher qualifications, a specialization in business administration, experience in marketing and participation in marketing training programmes impact positively on the application of modern marketing activities in the Saudi manufacturing sector. However, marketing managers' age, nationality, country of higher education, duration in current company, or membership in any professional marketing associations do not impact on the application of marketing activities in the Saudi manufacturing sector. Data analysis also showed that the majority of a company's characteristics impact on the application of marketing activities in the Saudi manufacturing sectors. Included in this are the legal form of companies, the size of company, the level of a company's competition, and the availability of a marketing department in any company. However, type of manufacturing company, type of product, and number of product do not have any impact on applying marketing activities in the Saudi manufacturing sector. This study linked the success of manufacturing companies by sales, profits and market share and the application of marketing know-how, and concluded that when marketing activities are applied in the Saudi manufacturing sector, company sales, profits and market share increase and make a company more successful. Nevertheless, the study concluded that the majority of Saudi environmental factors are not obstacles to the application of marketing know-how in Saudi manufacturing companies. The stagnancy of governmental measures on commercial activities, lack of formal marketing education, lack of professional marketing personnel, and shortage of marketing information, were the only variables which were obstacles to the employment of marketing know-how in Saudi manufacturing companies. On the other hand, there are ten variables which are not obstacles to the employment of marketing know-how in Saudi manufacturing companies. These are; economic stability, prevalent religious values, competition in the market, focusing on production tasks rather than marketing tasks, and lack of advanced technology in the company. Finally, implications and recommendations for further research are presented in the last chapter of this study

Stochastic evolution algorithm for technology mapping

A new technology mapper (SELF-Map) for Look-Up Table (LUT) based Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) is described. SELF-Map is based on the Stochastic Evolution (SE) algorithm. The state space model of the problem is defined and suitable cost function which allows optimization for area, delay, or area-delay combinations is proposed. Experimental results show that SELF-Map has an overall better performance compared to other algorithms reported in the literatur

Stochastic evolution algorithm for technology mapping

A new technology mapper (SELF-Map) for Look-Up Table (LUT) based Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) is described. SELF-Map is based on the Stochastic Evolution (SE) algorithm. The state space model of the problem is defined and suitable cost function which allows optimization for area, delay, or area-delay combinations is proposed. Experimental results show that SELF-Map has an overall better performance compared to other algorithms reported in the literatur

Determinants influencing the continuous intention to use digital technologies in Higher Education

There is increasing evidence that the lack of access to digital information and technologies is not widely considered in the educational sectors when focusing on the perceived experience, tutor quality and students’ satisfaction. In this paper, we report on an evaluation of a project aiming to bridge the use of digital information in the educational sector by proposing an integrated model that measures teachers’ quality, uncertainty avoidance effects and students’ satisfaction concerning TAM constructs and the perceived experience of digital information in education (DIE). The model and hypotheses were validated using data collected from a survey of 553 students at a college level. The results revealed that users may perceive the importance of DIE based on several external factors that enhance their learning and teaching experiences. The personal characteristics of the user including his/her readiness to use technology are crucial in correlation with the perceived ease of use. In addition, the high quality of the tutor in some cultures may enhance the perceived usefulness of the technology. Other factors such as flow of information, uncertain avoidance and satisfaction may strongly assess the continuous intention to use the technology

Reliability based Topological Optimization of Computer Networks - Part II: Iterative Techniques

Topological optimization of computer networks is concerned with the design of a network by selecting a subset of the available set of links such that the fault tolerance and reliability aspects are maximized while a cost constraint is met. A number of enumerative and iterative based techniques were proposed to solve this problem. In this paper (Part II), we present and compare the different proposed iterative techniques for optimizing different aspects (reliability, fault tolerance, and cost) of the designed networks

Measuring institutions’ adoption of artificial intelligence applications in online learning environments: integrating the innovation diffusion theory with technology adoption rate

Artificial intelligence applications (AIA) increase innovative interaction, allowing for a more interactive environment in governmental institutions. Artificial intelligence is user-friendly and embraces an effective number of features among the different services it offers. This study aims to investigate users’ experiences with AIA for governmental purposes in the Gulf area. The conceptual model comprises the adoption properties (namely trialability, observability, compatibility, and complexity), relative advantage, ease of doing business, and technology export. The novelty of the paper lies in its conceptual model that correlates with both personal characteristics and technology-based features. The results show that the variables of diffusion theory have a positive impact on the two variables of ease of doing business and technology export. The practical implications of the current study are significant. We urge the concerned authorities in the governmental sector to understand the significance of each factor and encourage them to make plans, according to the order of significance of the factors. The managerial implications provide insights into the implementation of AIA in governmental systems to enhance the development of the services they offer and to facilitate their use by all users

Integrating teachers’ TPACK levels and students’ learning motivation, technology innovativeness, and optimism in an IoT acceptance model

The growing use of the Internet of Things (IoT) around the world has encouraged researchers to investigate how and why the IoT is implemented in colleges and universities. Previous studies have focused on individual attitudes rather than the integration of attitudes from two different perspectives. Furthermore, other studies have investigated the use of the IoT in non-educational settings, ignoring the effect of the IoT related to the technology acceptance model (TAM) and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) model. The present work aims to address this research gap by determining the main factors that influence acceptance of the IoT, leading to increased awareness in collaborative learning, where technology forms the core tool in enhancing the use of the IoT. A questionnaire was used to collect data from teachers and students from colleges and universities in Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The data were analyzed through the structural equation modeling (SEM) method. The findings indicated that there are two levels of positive effects on the intention to use IoT. The first level is technology features, which are represented by technology optimism and technology innovation; these factors are crucial to using the IoT. The second level is learning motivation, which has a close relationship with teachers’ knowledge, and content pedagogy, which has a significant effect on the familiarity with IoT tools and applications. TAM constructs have a positive and direct impact on the intention to use IoT. The practical and managerial implications show that teachers, educators, and students can obtain benefits from these results to help IoT features to suit users’ needs

Examining the impact of artificial intelligence and social and computer anxiety in e-learning settings: students’ perceptions at the university level

The learning environment usually raises various types of anxiety based on the student’s abilities to use technology and their abilities to overcome the negative feelings of an individual being watched all the time and criticized. Hence, learners still feel anxious while using computers and socializing in an e-learning environment. Learners who are faced with computer and AI tools are confused and frustrated. The uneasiness stems from anxiety or uneasiness, which is highly evident in daily interaction with computers and artificial intelligence tools or devices in e-learning contexts. The uneasiness stems from anxiety or uneasiness, which is highly evident in the daily interaction with computers and artificial intelligence tools or devices in e-learning contexts. To investigate this phenomenon empirically, a questionnaire was distributed among a group of undergraduate students who are studying different majors. This study aims to investigate the role of social anxiety and computer anxiety in an e-learning environment at the university level. Universities in the Gulf area are among those implementing e-learning systems. In spite of this, recent studies have shown that most students at Gulf universities are still resistant to using online systems; hence, it is necessary to determine the type of anxiety that creates such resistance and their relationship with other external variables such as motivation, satisfaction and self-efficacy. Students would be more likely to use e-learning tools and participate more effectively in their courses using the accessible electronic channels when the degree of anxiety is low. In this study, we have proposed a theoretical framework to investigate the role of social anxiety and computer anxiety in e-learning environments in the Gulf region. We examined how different variables such as satisfaction, motivation and self-efficacy can negatively or positively affect these two types of anxiety

A Sustainable Academic Journey in the Middle East: An Exploratory Study of Female College Students’ Self-Efficacy and Perceived Social Support

In a society that is set to move from a patriarchal, gender-segregated workforce to one characterized by gender equity, female college students are the focal agents of change. Thus, they were selected to examine the contribution that perceived social support of women toward other women plays in their self-efficacy (i.e., confidence in one’s abilities) and academic performance (as measured by class grades). Self-reports were used to collect information about perceived social support, its nature and sources, and general self-efficacy from a sample of 131 female college students (age range: 18–24). Regression analyses were used to examine the participants’ responses. Surprisingly, the stronger the perceived positive social support reported by the respondents, the lower their academic performance. The contribution of the sources of negative social support (i.e., criticism) to either performance or self-efficacy was contingent on its being either received or given. Namely, explaining the criticism that women receive from other women by attributing it to their social environment was linked to higher performance, whereas explaining the criticism that women generate toward other women by attributing it to their social environment was linked to lower self-efficacy. However, the more likely women were to respond to criticism of women in person or via social media, the higher their self-efficacy. It was concluded that, for the selected sample, the contribution of social support, either positive or negative, to self-confidence and performance might depend on the extent to which female students perceive themselves as independent agents capable of self-determination in an environment making steps toward gender equity