Measuring The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Individuals

Three problems associated with the use of social media in marketing include: 1. The difficulty in tracking, managing, and analyzing the traffic that comes from different social media networks. Google Analytics is one of the data analytic tools that deals with traffic efficiently. It recognizes traffic sources and categorizes them to give the advertiser insights into oncoming traffic to the company’s website. It provides comprehensive statistics about traffic, which can be useful for advertisers to measure the performance of their marketing campaigns. 2. The inability to measure the success of marketing campaigns to increase sales. A/B Testing is a useful way to tell advertisers about the best methods to enhance their final results. It examines the functionalities of websites and advertising techniques during social marketing campaigns that lead to direct or indirect impacts, which can boost sales. 3. The lack of finding target audiences in social media. Social media’s API, such as Twitter Ads, provides many features that can generate new leads. It gives advertisers the ability to target social media users based on their demography, geography, behavior, and interest. In the business section, the paper covers the impact of social media influencers on their followers and how companies use those influencers within their marketing campaigns. This information can help businesses achieve their social media marketing goals by using these solutions and following measurable plans. Furthermore, the paper mentions some successful case studies that have used these solutions effectively

Did Public Organizations in Saudi Arabia Increase Openness When They Implemented New Public Management (NPM)?

This dissertation investigates the impact of new public management (NPM) on Saudi ministries’ openness. The study sample is three Saudi ministries: the Housing Ministry, the Health Ministry, and the Ministry of Commerce. Moreover, this study creates the NPM Index to measure the ministries’ NPM implementations. Furthermore, this research uses the Public Participation Spectrum (SSP) to measure openness. This dissertation collects data from the sample\u27s annual reports for 2017, and the main finding is that implementing NPM did not increase ministries’ openness. The ministries showed different NPM implementations levels with the same level of openness

Intellectual Property Rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia In Light of Sharia and the TRIPS Agreement

This study aims to illustrate the current state of intellectual property rights (IPR) in Saudi Arabia in light of certain international agreements, specifically TRIPS, as well as Sharia law, that have informed the Saudi legislature in its creation and handling of intellectual property matters. Various matters of IP today may be debated among Saudi\u27s Islamic jurists, which in turn may bring such issues into conflict with Sharia. Such conflicts over matters of IP cannot be dismissed lightly by the Saudi legislators. They must determine the proper enforcement and protection of IRP as stipulated by modern Saudi IP laws and/or by international agreements signed by the Saudi government. Potential deficiencies in the proper protection and enforcement of IPR may foster dear among IPR owners regarding access to legal protection for their IP. The main objective of this study is to prove the possibility of reducing IPR infringement in Saudi Arabia. This study also argues that it is possible for Saudi to provide strong enforcement and protection of IPR through the enforcement of religious law, and through other means and measures that are compatible with Sharia and the cultural environment of Saudi Arabia, which is in general strongly religious, traditional, and conservative. Such legal and religious measures may place Saudi\u27s IPR laws on par with international IPR standards and the laws of other countries, and may assist in elaborating a more globalized vision about IPR systems in Saudi Arabia. This study will analyze and evaluate current Saudi IPR legislation, including Trademarks, Copyrights, and Patents from the viewpoint of Islamic and Saudi laws. The methodology adopted in this study is reflective of traditional Saudi IPR laws and international IPR conventions, with reference to other jurisdictions when needed to compare the legislation and practices of diverse countries. Special attention is paid to countries such as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that have a culture similar to Saudi Arabia\u27s and comply with Sharia. This study will serve the important purpose of educating Saudi and international IP owners and lawyers, Saudi authorities who regulate IPR, Islamic countries, and scholars and practitioners in other legal fields seeking to understand the status of IPR in Saudi Arabia, especially as related to Sharia. In additione to the above mentioned analysis, the author will employ other methods for certain matters, including the critiques and reforms of IP laws and practices. In addition, an attempt has been made to close-read the test of Saudi statutes in light of Sharia and its theories related to IPR. The scope of this study is to examine the aspects of protection, enforcement, and infringement of IPR in the framework of Sharia, the TRIPS agreement, and the current Saudi IPR laws. This study is divided into three main parts and eight chapters, as follows. Part I comprises Chapters 2 and 3, and deals with the general background of intellectual property rights in TRIPS, Saudi statutes, Jurisprudence, and Sharia. Various theories related to IPR are discussed with respect to modern laws and Sharia. Part II comprises Chapters 4, 5, and 6, and discusses infringement and enforcement of IPR in Sharia, Saudi Arabia, and other countries. The underlying concepts and reasons for IPR infringement and enforcement, and the criminal and civil remedies regarding IPR, are elucidated with respect to Saudi and Sharia law. An examination of the enforcement of religious law by the religious police as related to Sharia and its modern practices is provided. Recommendations and improvements that might be made to current legal practices are illustrated. Part III comprises Chapters 7, 8, and 9, and examines matters of IPR that might raise issues related to the implementation of proper IPR protection and enforcement. Such matters are related to trademarks, and concern the function, ownership, and protection of banned trademarks in Saudi Arabia with reference to Sharia and other legislation. Likewise, matters of copyrights concerning moral and financial rights, duration, and protection are deliberated. Regarding patents matters concerning monopolies, public interest, infringement and remedies are discussed. Recommendations are provided as important results in the conclusion of this study

Experiential Explanations for Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement Learning (RL) approaches are becoming increasingly popular in various key disciplines, including robotics and healthcare. However, many of these systems are complex and non-interpretable, making it challenging for non-AI experts to understand or intervene. One of the challenges of explaining RL agent behavior is that, when learning to predict future expected reward, agents discard contextual information about their experiences when training in an environment and rely solely on expected utility. We propose a technique, Experiential Explanations, for generating local counterfactual explanations that can answer users' why-not questions by explaining qualitatively the effects of the various environmental rewards on the agent's behavior. We achieve this by training additional modules alongside the policy. These models, called influence predictors, model how different reward sources influence the agent's policy, thus restoring lost contextual information about how the policy reflects the environment. To generate explanations, we use these models in addition to the policy to contrast between the agent's intended behavior trajectory and a counterfactual trajectory suggested by the user

Simulation based optimization of joint maintenance and inventory for multi-components manufacturing systems

Maintenance and spare parts management are interrelated and the literature shows the significance of optimizing them jointly. Simulation is an efficient tool in modeling such a complex and stochastic problem. In this paper, we optimize preventive maintenance and spare provision policy under continuous review in a non-identical multi-component manufacturing system through a combined discrete event and continuous simulation model coupled with an optimization engine. The study shows that production dynamics and labor availability have a significant impact on maintenance performance. Optimization results of Simulated Annealing, Hill Climb and Random solutions are compared. The experiments show that Simulated annealing achieved the best results although the computation time was relatively high. Investigating multi-objective optimization might provide interesting results as well as more flexibility to the decision maker

Neural Network Approaches for Early Breast Cancer Detection

Research on breast cancer is crucial due to its significant impact on public health, with high mortality rates underscoring the urgency for improved diagnostic methods. Early detection plays a pivotal role in enhancing treatment outcomes and reducing mortality rates. This paper addresses the pressing need for more effective early disease detection methods, particularly focusing on breast cancer diagnosis. It proposes the utilization of neural networking techniques, known for their potential to enhance accuracy and efficiency in cancer diagnosis. The study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of breast cancer detection using neural networking, emphasizing its significance in improving patient outcomes. By showcasing the effectiveness of neural network approaches, the research contributes to advancing early cancer detection efforts, aligning with global health initiatives prioritizing early diagnosis and intervention

An evaluation of investor protection in secondary securities markets

This thesis discusses differences in countries' approaches to investor protection regulation and explores the reasons why they exist in the first place as well as why they are likely to persist. I first provide a framework that can explain the need for regulation in financial markets in general and secondary capital markets in particular. Next, taking the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia as case studies, I present descriptive and stylised evidence on regulatory and institutional differences across countries with regards to private enforcement of regulatory duties. Differences in the institutional treatment of those entitled to the regulatory protection as well as what regulatory duties entail are evident. However, the two countries are similar in that they both provide for private enforcement of regulatory duties through a cause of action in tort. An important implication of this finding is that the level of protection provided is unlikely to converge globally, despite efforts to harmonies by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Convergence of the legal protection provided for investors is also unlikely due to persistent differences in tort law around the world. Given an ostensibly strong need for appropriate level of protection for investors, I propose a different way forward that does not require convergence of substantive regulation and enforcement across countries.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

CONSENSUS GII.4 VIRUS LIKE PARTICLES; A VACCINE CANDIDATE BIOPHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION, STABILIZATION, AND ADJUVANTS BINDING STUDIES

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimate globally that 1.9 million children under the age of five years old die annually as consequence of diarrhea. Increasing need for hospitalization, which has negative effects on health care sectors, in addition to mortality incidences mark diarrheal related diseases a growing burden on both health care sectors and the global economy. Introducing novel measures to control and avert the spread of diarrheal disease are of paramount importance. Diarrhea is the main symptom in Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and according to the United States' National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS), viral agents are the dominant precursors of epidemic AGE outbreaks. More than 90% of humans' acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis breakouts worldwide is caused by Noroviruses (NoVs). NoVs of the Caliciviridae family are none enveloped, positive sense, single stranded RNA virus, noncultivable in cell culture, containing three open reading frames (ORF). Expressing NoVs ORF2 in a baculovirus expression system produces empty virus-like particles (VLPs). These VLPs are very similar to the native virus in terms of morphology and antigenicity, yet lacking the genetic material essential for infectivity, making the VLPs a superb candidate for vaccine development. By comparing the capsid sequence of three different NoVs GII.4 strains, consensus GII.4 VLPs were produced as a potential vaccine with the goal of providing a broader protection against AGE. The main objective of this study is to understand the structural behavior of NoVs Consensus GII.4 VLPs, which is to be used as a vaccine. A complement of biophysical techniques has been employed to characterize the physical stability of Noroviruses Consensus GII.4 virus-like particles (VLPs) as a function of temperature and pH. The VLPs' physical stability are characterized by different spectroscopic techniques and the resulting data are used to construct empirical phase diagrams (EPDs) projecting the entire data set in the form of a colored image. These EPDs are used in the development of excipient screening assays to identify potential stabilizers of the VLPs in solution. The identified stabilizers are then subjected to further screening using fluorescence analysis to determine their optimal concentrations and use in combination. The generated data are used to construct binding isotherms for Consensus GII.4 VLP and aluminum salt adjuvants (Alhydrogel® and Adjuphos®). Binding isotherms were also generated for Norwalk VLP (a previously studied vaccine candidate) and aluminum salt adjuvants. Front Face Fluorescence Spectroscopy is used to evaluate the structural changes associated with Consensus GII.4 and Norwalk VLPs when bound to aluminum salt adjuvants

Use of 0.7-in. Diameter Prestressing Strand in Bridge Girders: Bond Behavior and Girder Stability

In prestressed concrete bridge girders, the use of 0.7-in. diameter strand will allow 35% increase in prestressing force than 0.6-in. diameter strand and 92% increase than 0.5-in. diameter strand. This increase in prestressing force will theoretically permit longer span lengths, shallow girders or fewer girders across the width of a given bridge. AASHTO bridge design and construction specifications do not specify the use of 0.7-in. diameter strands for precast prestressed girders. Lack of data on the use, and particularly the bond behavior, of 0.7-in. diameter strand prevent its wide use in bridge construction. In this thesis the bond behavior of 0.7-in. diameter strand is evaluated. In addition to geometric and material characterization, five strands of each diameter (0.5, 0.6 and 0.7-in.) were tested to evaluate the Hoyer effect. Test results indicate that the dilation ratio of the strand exceeds that predicted by the Poison ratio alone. A parametric investigation using the finite element method was conducted to evaluate the effects of strand dilation over the expected transfer length of the strand. Single-strand models were used to illustrate the Hoyer effect and four-strands models to investigate the effect of strand spacing. Potential for local cracking resulting from the Hoyer effect is identified. Thirty beam-end specimens having straight and 90o hooked anchorages with different embedment lengths in different weight concretes were tested to evaluate the relative bond capacity of the strands. Test results indicate a predictable variation in bond behavior not attributed to the strand size. All tests exhibited shorter development lengths (i.e., better bond) than that prescribed in design. The potential benefits of hooked anchorage are identified in resisting high longitudinal tensile forces related to beam-end shear effects. With the potential for longer girders, stability is a concern during all the stages of girder construction and erection. A few previously designed girders that had been optimized for length are evaluated for stability following the PCI method. Analysis indicated that stability generally could be achieved. When necessary, increasing the width of the top flange since Iy/Ix has the pronounced effect on improving stability

Perspectives of Primary School Science Teachers, Supervisors and Parents towards Assessment for Learning

One of the major problems of the Continuous Assessment System (CAS) in elementary schools is that it assesses students' learning more than helping them improve their understanding and knowledge of scientific concepts and skills. It also does not assess their behavioral and social skills. This research aims to introduce assessment for learning, where the teacher gathers information about the student's current knowledge and skills then provides them with feedback to help them improve learning. The study consists of two parts: a survey of the science teachers, supervisors and parents' opinions in comparing the two assessment systems (tested for validity and stability). The second part was to apply assessment for learning in science classrooms by six teachers for a period not less than six weeks. Interviews were used to collect data and a new form of report card was proposed to assess student performance. Findings indicate significant differences between assessment for learning and CAS in favor of the former. The teachers noticed positive results in the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and skills of the students, and a marked improvement in social and behavioral skills