Investigating enterprise resource planning adoption and implementation in service sector organisations

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel UniversityThis thesis investigates Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) adoption and implementation in Service Sector Organisations (SSOs). ERP is a business management system that has emerged to support organisations to use a system of integrated applications to enhance their Information Technology (IT) infrastructures, enhance business processes and deliver high quality of services. Regardless of the fact that several other sector organisations have adopted and implemented ERP systems, its application in SSOs is rather inadequate. Among other reasons, two core rationales can be attributed to the latter fact – firstly, SSOs lack the sufficient knowledge, expertise and training to implement such sophisticated integrated systems and secondly, the top management lacks the ability to take appropriate decisions for ERP adoption and implementation. However, merely focusing on a number of factors influencing ERP adoption and implementation may not be suffice, as there is a need for a systematic decision-making process for adopting and implementing ERP systems in SSOs. The limited number of ERP systems’ applications in SSOs has resulted in inadequate research in this area with many issues, like its adoption and implementation requiring further exploration. Despite, the implications of ERP systems have yet to be assessed in SSOs, leaving ample scope for relevance and producing a unique piece of research work. Thus, the author demonstrates that it is of high importance to investigate this area within SSOs and contribute towards successful ERP adoption and implementation. This thesis makes a step forward and contributes to the body of knowledge as it: investigates factors influencing the decision-making process for ERP adoption and implementation in SSOs, prioritises the importance of factors influencing ERP adoption and implementation, evaluates ERP lifecycle phases and stages, maps the ERP factors on different phases and stages of the ERP lifecycle, and in doing so, to propose a model for ERP adoption and implementation in SSOs. The author claims that such an ERP adoption and implementation process in SSOs is significant and novel as: it extends established norms for ERP adoption and implementation, by including Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique for prioritising the importance of factors, thus, facilitating SSOs to produce more robust proposals for ERP adoption and implementation. The author further assess the proposed ERP adoption and implementation model by using a qualitative, interpretive, multiple case study research strategy. Findings from two case studies demonstrate that such a systematic approach contributes towards more robust decisions for ERP adoption and implementation and indicates that it is acceptable by the case study organisations. The thesis proposes, assesses and presents a novel model for ERP adoption and implementation in SSOs and contributes to the body of knowledge by extending the literature.King Abdulaziz University and Saudi Arabia Cultural Burea

The Reality of the Applying the principles of Knowledge Economy in the Institution of Higher Education in the State of Kuwait واقع تطبيق مبادئ اقتصاد المعرفة في مؤسسات التعليم العالي في دولة الكويت

Abstract: The study aimed at finding out the reality of the applying to principles of knowledge economy in the institution of higher education in the state of Kuwait. To achieve the goal of the study, a questionnaire was developed. It consisted of (65) items. Its validity and reliability were assured. The study sample consisted of (200) Members. The survey descriptive methodology was used. The findings showed that the degree of appreciation of the reality of applying the principles of knowledge economy in the institutions of higher education in the state of Kuwait from the study subject\u27s point of view was medium. There were no significant differences in the degree of appreciation of the reality of applying the principles of knowledge economy in the institutions of higher education in the state of Kuwait attributed to sex variable on the total score. In light of the study results, the researchers recommended the necessity to keep pace with all that is new to the development of institutional performance in light of the principles of the knowledge economy. ملخص: هدفت الدراسة الحالية التعرف إلى واقع تطبيق مبادئ اقتصاد المعرفة في مؤسسات التعليم العالي في دولة الكويت, لتحقيق هدف الدراسة تم تطوير استبانة مكونة من (65) فقرة, وتم التأكد من صدقها وثباتها, ومن ثم تم توزيعها على عينة الدراسة المكونة من (200) عضو, وأظهرت نتائج الدراسة أن درجة تقدير واقع تطبيق مبادئ اقتصاد المعرفة في مؤسسات التعليم العالي في دولة الكويت من وجهة نظر أفراد عينة الدراسة كانت بدرجة متوسطة, وتم استخدام المنهج المسحي الوصفي, وأظهرت النتائج عدم وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية في تقديرات أفراد عينة الدارسة لواقع تطبيق مبادئ اقتصاد المعرفة في مؤسسات التعليم العالي تعزى لمتغير الجنس على المستوى الكلي للأداة وعلى جميع الأبعاد, وأوصت الدراسة في ضوء تلك النتائج بضرورة مواكبة كل ما هو جديد لتطوير الأداء المؤسسي في ضوء مبادئ اقتصاد المعرفة

Prevalence, knowledge and attitudes toward herbal medication use by Saudi women in the central region during pregnancy, during labor and after delivery

Abstract Background Herbal medication usage is prevalent in both developing and developed countries. The low level of awareness of the possible dangers of some herbs during pregnancy increases the risk of unwarranted sequelae. This manuscript describes the first study of herbal medication use among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. It aims to determine the prevalence of herbal medication use during pregnancy, during labor and after delivery in the central region of Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted over a 5-month period from May 15 to October 15, 2016. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed at 4 main hospitals and 3 primary care centers in Riyadh and Al Kharj. Data from 612 participants were collected and analyzed. Descriptive statistics in the form of frequency and percentage were determined, and Chi-squared tests were performed. Results Of the 612 participants, 25.3%, 33.7% and 48.9% used herbs during pregnancy, during labor, and after delivery, respectively. The primary motives for using herbal medication during pregnancy, during labor and after delivery were to boost general health, ease and accelerate labor and clean the womb, respectively. There was a significant association between use during pregnancy and prior use (P = 0.001). Most pregnant women used herbs based on advice from family and friends (52.9%). Only 40.7% of pregnant women disclosed their herbal use to their doctors. Conclusion The prevalence of herbal medication use among pregnant Saudi women in Riyadh and Al Kharj is relatively high. Doctors should be aware of evidence regarding the potential benefits or harm of herbal medication use during pregnancy

A hybrid security system for drones based on ICMetric technology.

Recently, the number of drones has increased, and drones' illegal and malicious use has become prevalent. The dangerous and wasteful effects are substantial, and the probability of attacks is very high. Therefore, an anomaly detection and protection system are needed. This paper aims to design and implement an intelligent anomaly detection system for the security of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)/drones. The proposed system is heavily based on utilizing ICMetric technology to exploit low-level device features for detection. This technology extracts the accelerometer and gyroscope sensors' bias to create a unique number known as the ICMetric number. Hence, ICMetric numbers represent additional features integrated into the dataset used to detect drones. This study performs the classification using a deep neural network (DNN). The experimental results prove that the proposed system achieves high levels of detection and performance metrics

Inhalable, Spray-Dried Terbinafine Microparticles for Management of Pulmonary Fungal Infections: Optimization of the Excipient Composition and Selection of an Inhalation Device

Terbinafine is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent with therapeutic potential against pulmonary aspergillosis. The main aim of the current study was to investigate the potential of l-leucine, alone and in combination with mannitol, to improve the performance of spray-dried terbinafine microparticles for inhalation. The study also aimed to investigate the potential of the low resistance Cyclohaler® and the high resistance Handihaler® as inhalation devices for spray-dried microparticles. To this end, eight powder inhalation formulations of terbinafine were prepared by nano spray drying via a factorial experimental design. The formulations were evaluated in vitro for their potential to deliver the antifungal drug to the lungs using the Cyclohaler® and the Handihaler®. Leucine was superior as an excipient to mannitol and to mixtures of leucine and mannitol. Using leucine as an excipient resulted in formulations with fine particle fractions of up to 60.84 ± 0.67% w/w and particle mass median aerodynamic diameters of down to 1.90 ± 0.20 μm, whereas using mannitol as an excipient resulted in formulations with fine particle fractions of up to 18.75 ± 3.46% w/w and particle mass median aerodynamic diameters of down to 6.79 ± 0.82 μm. When leucine was used as an excipient, using 50% w/w rather than 25% w/w ethanol in water as a spray solvent enhanced the dispersibility of the particles, with a mean absolute increase in the formulation fine particle fraction of 9.57% w/w (95% confidence interval = 6.40–12.73% w/w). This was potentially underlain by enrichment of the particle surfaces with leucine. The Cyclohaler® outperformed the Handihaler® as an inhalation device for the developed formulations, with a mean absolute increase in the fine particle fraction of 9.17% w/w (95% confidence interval = 8.17–10.16% w/w)