Effective corporate governance and the cost of capital and financial performance: An empirical investigation into the peculiar link in Saudi stock market listed firms

Recent decades have experienced a trend in companies implementing scrupulous structures of corporate governance in response to various infamous commercial failings. It is vital that such structures are in place that would enable companies to operate openly and without the danger of being accused of inefficient management. This will help encourage foreign investors in addition to ensuring a healthy and efficient business environment. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of ensuring effective corporate governance mechanisms on the cost of capital and financial performance, focusing on non-financial companies registered with the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange. Saudi Arabia is a developing market in the Gulf region where block-holding ownership dominates the business world. With this peculiar ownership structure, Saudi Arabia was relatively unaffected by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) a quality that allows local companies, with limited influences from the external business world, to be subjected to a deeper analyses with regard to their corporate governance mechanisms and their impact on the cost of capital and financial performance. The agency theory was the primary model used in the development of the conceptual framework for this study with some borrowings from resource dependence and stewardship theories. The outcomes of existing studies in this field are largely inconclusive, with no ongoing research on the relationship between the cost of capital and corporate governance in Saudi Arabia and the limited number of studies examining this relationship between corporate governance and financial performance in the Kingdom. Thus, there is a gap in the research, which this study has aimed to fill. The findings of the current study, in addition to filling the void in the literature, are expected to influence policy-makers, practitioners, and those looking to invest in Saudi Arabian companies by equipping investors with more awareness about the information and security protection provided by the structure of corporate governance in Saudi Arabia. The current study used 84 non-finance companies registered in Saudi Arabia between 2006 and 2014. Two prominent issues have been examined in this study: the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and the cost of capital, and the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance. This study employed three regression techniques examine the relationship between corporate governance variables (measured as board structure, audit committees structure, ownership structure) and the cost of capital measured as weighted average cost of capital (WACC) in Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange listed non-finance firms. The three methods of regression included: First the, hypotheses being investigated using a pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. This was followed by panel data models, both random and fixed effects, to control for any unnoticed heterogeneity. Lastly, a generalised least square (GLS) is used to investigate the hypotheses further, this time focusing on the peculiar problems of causality and endogeneity. The results showed that corporate governance mechanisms, such as board size and block ownership, have a significant positive effect on the cost of capital. Nevertheless, board independence has a significant negative effect on the cost of capital, which indicates that these findings align closely with the theoretical underpinnings of agency theory. The financial performance of a company is expressed in this study via return on assets (ROA) and Tobin's Q. The same three aforementioned methods of regression are adopted here to examine the relationship between the implementation of corporate governance mechanisms and firms’ performance. Results indicated that the governance mechanisms, including foreign ownership, government ownership, board meeting, and audit committee independence have significant positive effects on firm performance. On the other hand, board size, audit committee size and audit committee meetings have a significant negative effect on firm performance. The current study’s findings showed, as suggested by the agency theory, that corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance are clearly interlinked in the context of the emerging market of Saudi Arabia. The findings of the current study are largely aligned with the theoretical underpinnings of agency theory and with the findings of the existing literature in varying world contexts. These findings, due to their close touch with the practical world and relevance to the country’s current business scenario, are expected to be relevant and beneficial for managers, investors, policy-makers and other stakeholders considering involvement with Saudi Arabian companies

Exploring the Perceptions of mHealth Interventions for the Prevention of Common Mental Disorders in University Students in Singapore: Qualitative Study

Background: Mental health interventions delivered through mobile health (mHealth) technologies can increase the access to mental health services, especially among university students. The development of mHealth intervention is complex and needs to be context sensitive. There is currently limited evidence on the perceptions, needs, and barriers related to these interventions in the Southeast Asian context. Objective: This qualitative study aimed to explore the perception of university students and mental health supporters in Singapore about mental health services, campaigns, and mHealth interventions with a focus on conversational agent interventions for the prevention of common mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Methods: We conducted 6 web-based focus group discussions with 30 university students and one-to-one web-based interviews with 11 mental health supporters consisting of faculty members tasked with student pastoral care, a mental health first aider, counselors, psychologists, a clinical psychologist, and a psychiatrist. The qualitative analysis followed a reflexive thematic analysis framework. Results: The following 6 main themes were identified: a healthy lifestyle as students, access to mental health services, the role of mental health promotion campaigns, preferred mHealth engagement features, factors that influence the adoption of mHealth interventions, and cultural relevance of mHealth interventions. The interpretation of our findings shows that students were reluctant to use mental health services because of the fear of stigma and a possible lack of confidentiality. Conclusions: Study participants viewed mHealth interventions for mental health as part of a blended intervention. They also felt that future mental health mHealth interventions should be more personalized and capable of managing adverse events such as suicidal ideation

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Background: Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. // Methods: We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung's disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. // Findings: We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung's disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middle-income countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in low-income countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. // Interpretation: Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Barrier Function Adaptive Nonsingular Terminal Sliding Mode Control Approach for Quad-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

This paper proposes a barrier function adaptive non-singular terminal sliding mode controller for a six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) quad-rotor in the existence of matched disturbances. For this reason, a linear sliding surface according to the tracking error dynamics is proposed for the convergence of tracking errors to origin. Afterward, a novel non-singular terminal sliding surface is suggested to guarantee the finite-time reachability of the linear sliding surface to origin. Moreover, for the rejection of the matched disturbances that enter into the quad-rotor system, an adaptive control law based on barrier function is recommended to approximate the matched disturbances at any moment. The barrier function-based control technique has two valuable properties. First, this function forces the error dynamics to converge on a region near the origin in a finite time. Secondly, it can remove the increase in the adaptive gain because of the matched disturbances. Lastly, simulation results are given to demonstrate the validation of this technique

Nonsingular Terminal Sliding Mode Control Based on Adaptive Barrier Function for nth-Order Perturbed Nonlinear Systems

In this study, an adaptive nonsingular finite time control technique based on a barrier function terminal sliding mode controller is proposed for the robust stability of nth-order nonlinear dynamic systems with external disturbances. The barrier function adaptive terminal sliding mode control makes the convergence of tracking errors to a region near zero in the finite time. Moreover, the suggested method does not need the information of upper bounds of perturbations which are commonly applied to the sliding mode control procedure. The Lyapunov stability analysis proves that the errors converge to the determined region. Last of all, simulations and experimental results on a complex new chaotic system with a high Kaplan&ndash;Yorke dimension are provided to confirm the efficacy of the planned method. The results demonstrate that the suggested controller has a stronger tracking than the adaptive controller and the results are satisfactory with the application of the controller based on chaotic synchronization on the chaotic system

Investigation of Existing and New Human Resource Practices on Public Health Employee Retention during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

This research investigates existing and new HR practices that have impacted public health employee retention in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. It builds on social support theory and social exchange theory to better understand the relationships between HR practices and retention, and uses quantitative methods to examine the hypotheses based on a conceptual framework. While OLS regression is employed to analyze the relationships between HR practices and retention, path analysis (bootstrapping) is used to examine the mediator variable. Based on 417 valid questionnaires distributed to public health employees in Saudi Arabia's central, western, and eastern regions, the analysis illustrates that while training and emphasis on work-life-balance as existing HR practices had a positive effect on retention, social support (supervisory support) and promotion of mental well-being as new HR practices also had a positive effect on retention during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the hypothesis that compensation and occupational health and safety would improve retention was not supported. These results indicate that financial benefits and providing safety materials did not lead to employee retention. Meanwhile, safety training programs, psychosocial support, and promotion of well-being have been essential HR practices during the pandemic. Regarding the mediation hypotheses, interestingly, the results show that organizational commitment has mediated relationships between safety training and mental (psychological) well-being on one hand and public health retention on the other during the pandemic

Using the combined LADM-IndoorGML model to support building evacuation

During an incident, many people that are located in indoor environments require to follow emergency evacuation procedures. The ‘emergency evacuation’ term has been defined as ‘a critical movement of people from a dangerous area due to the risk or an incident of a tragic event’ (Bonabeau, 2002). An emergency evacuation could be needed in a life or death situation, regardless if it begins with a natural non-intended incident or a terrorist attack. Many researchers have studied the behaviour of the people during the evacuation because of several incidents with panic attacks that have led to injuries including death of people being crushed or trampled down by others. In crisis situation, the perception of the indoor environment, which differs from person to person, play a critical role in the evacuation. Also, the access rights of the indoor spaces are different from those rights (and restrictions) during normal times. They may positively impact the movements of the people during the evacuation by providing suggestions for shorter/better route. This paper addresses the impact of the access rights of the indoor spaces during an emergency evacuation. We employ the conceptual model of LADM-IndoorGML that defines the accessibility of the indoor spaces based on the rights, restrictions, and responsibilities of the user of the indoor space. The access rights of the indoor spaces are affected by the crisis event and this needs to be modelled explicitly (and before crisis situation). Actually, the rights/restrictions persons have on spaces is time dependent: normal operation hours, outside normal operation hours (e.g. during night time in case of a University building) or during crisis times. These actual/valid rights and restrictions affect the movement / accessibility of the users to reach the nearest emergency exits or the safe zone. For this reason, different scenarios have to be developed to study the impact of the accessibilities for different types of users. In this paper we will present the 3D model of an educational building that was built for the purpose of evacuation study. The 3D model is supported by real data for all spaces from the facility management department such as information on departments, sections, groups of users (visitors, employees, and students), and public/private spaces, etc. and a real evacuation exercise. We consider it extremely important to develop our information model based on international standards (LADM/ISO 19152, OGC IndoorGML, ISO 19141, ISO 19107) as we expect that this information will be part of the future ‘building infrastructure’ and applications all over the world can understand and use this data when entering or leaving a certain building both during normal and crisis situations. Different types of applications are anticipated to be based on this information model; e.g. mobile indoor routing app (for normal building users and Emergency Response Team members), crisis evacuation desktop application for command centre, etc.OLD Department of GIS TechnologySafety and Security ScienceHR Safety and Environmen