The Determinants of Cloud Computing Adoption in Saudi Arabia

There is a large volume of published studies investigating the factors that affect cloud adoption. However, there are very few studies which investigate cloud computing adoption in technologically developing countries and one focus of the research was to examine whether the factors which influence cloud computing adoption in technologically developed countries also apply in technologically developing countries. The research presented in this paper in this paper builds on the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI) and the Technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework in order to investigate the factors which influence cloud computing adoption. Fourteen hypothesis were developed from the literature based on cloud adoption and were examined in the research. DOI and TOE. Data was collected by using a web-based questionnaire and was analysed using a range of statistical measures. This paper discusses the design and implementation of the study, the data analysis and conclusions from the analysis and compares the findings of this study with the findings of similar studies in technologically developed countries. The study show that there are some similarities as well as some differences in the factors that affect cloud computing adoption between technologically developed countries and technologically developing countrie

AN ADAPTIVE LOCALIZATION SYSTEM USING PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION IN A CIRCULAR DISTRIBUTION FORM

Tracking the user location in indoor environment becomes substantial issue in recent research High accuracy and fast convergence are very important issues for a good localization system. One of the techniques that are used in localization systems is particle swarm optimization (PSO). This technique is a stochastic optimization based on the movement and velocity of particles. In this paper, we introduce an algorithm using PSO for indoor localization system. The proposed algorithm uses PSO to generate several particles that have circular distribution around one access point (AP). The PSO generates particles where the distance from each particle to the AP is the same distance from the AP to the target. The particle which achieves correct distances (distances from each AP to target) is selected as the target. Four PSO variants, namely standard PSO (SPSO), linearly decreasing inertia weight PSO (LDIW PSO), self-organizing hierarchical PSO with time acceleration coefficients (HPSO-TVAC), and constriction factor PSO (CFPSO) are used to find the minimum distance error. The simulation results show the proposed method using HPSO-TVAC variant achieves very low distance error of 0.19 mete

Perspective of corporate governance and ethical issues with profit sharing investment accounts in Islamic banks

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the practices of Islamic banks in managing the so-called profit sharing investment accounts (PSIA) which they offer as a Shari’ah-compliant alternative to interest-bearing deposit accounts using an unrestricted Mudarabah contract. In particular, the paper aims to examine the risk-return characteristics of such accounts and to compare these to the returns and risks of shareholders in the same banks. It is relevant that PSIA holders (unrestricted investment account holders – UIAH) are exposed to losses on the assets in which their deposits are invested, while the bank as asset manager (Mudarib) does not bear these losses and as Mudarib typically receives more than 50 per cent of the profits earned on the PSIA. The issue is whether the UIAH are being treated equitably. The influence of a set of corporate governance variables on this issue was also analyzed. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 28 Islamic banks was selected from five countries for the period 2002-2013, with data being obtained from Bankscope and Bloomberg and, where necessary, from the banks’ annual reports. First, the risk-return characteristics of the UIAHs’ rates of return and shareholders’ rates of return on equity (ROE) were compared by calculating for each bank the coefficients of variation (CV) of the two series of rates of return. Second, a panel data approach was used to evaluate the effectiveness of corporate governance by examining the extent to which the size of the difference between the rates of return for shareholders and for UIAH was associated with a set of corporate governance variables. Third, a comparison was made between the risk-return characteristics of UIAH’s rates of return and shareholders’ dividend yield rate for a sub-sample of 20 banks for which the information was available. Findings For a significant proportion of the banks (9 out of 28), the CVs of the PSIA returns were higher than those of the shareholders’ ROEs, which suggested that in these cases the PSIA holders were receiving inequitable treatment. Likewise, for 7 out of the 20 banks in the sub-sample, the CVs of the PSIA holders’ rates of return were higher than those of the shareholders’ dividend yield rate. In explaining the size of the differences between the rates of return on PSIA and the shareholders’ ROEs, the variable with the greatest explanatory power was the return on assets, implying that when this was high the bank took a maximum Mudarib share of profits. Some other corporate governance variables had the expected signs, as did a country dummy representing the maturity of the market for Islamic banking, but there was little evidence of the effectiveness of corporate governance in protecting the interests of the UIAH. Research limitations/implications A limitation of the research was that the inefficiency of the stock markets in the relevant countries and the fact that a few of the banks were not listed made it impossible to use shareholders’ stock market returns. ROE is not a very good proxy, as it is unclear how much value should be placed on retained earnings. Dividend yield rates provide a better comparison with UIAH rates of return, but the data were available for only 20 of the banks. Nevertheless, the results of the analysis strongly suggest that in a significant proportion of cases, UIAH are not being treated equitably. Practical implications The implication is that the regulation of Islamic banks needs to be improved to provide better protection to UIAH. Social implications Islamic banks operate mainly in emerging markets where the effectiveness of regulation is limited. The ethical basis of Islamic finance provides some mitigation of this problem but apparently fails to do so in a significant proportion of cases. This should be borne in mind when assertions are made about the ethical basis of Islamic finance. Originality/value There is a dearth of empirical studies of the practices of Islamic banks and in particular of their treatment of their customers. This is because of various factors: the relative novelty of Islamic finance, the paucity of data and the relatively small size of the body of researchers in the field. This paper aims to contribute to filling this gap

Effects of different types of RSS data on the system accuracy of indoor localization system

Indoor localization system becomes a substantial issue in recent research, especially in terms of the accuracy. Location based services have been used in many mobile applications as well as wireless sensor networks. High accuracy and fast convergence are very important issues for a good localization system. However, the type of obtained received signal strength (RSS) data is very important in order to get high accuracy. In this paper, we introduce three types of RSS data, which are: measured RSS, simulated RSS and average combined RSS. Bayesian network based on fingerprinting technique is used to investigate the effect of the three different types of RSS. The results show the effect of the three different RSS data on the accuracy of estimated location. The measured RSS has achieved an average accuracy of 4.3 meters using 10 training points while the average combined RSS has achieved a good accuracy of 2.1 meters

The effects of free amino acids profiles on seeds germination/dormancy and seedlings development of two genetically different cultivars of Yemeni Pomegranates

Plant seeds used rely on a wide range of internal mechanisms and physio-chemical factors to ensure their germination under favorable environmental conditions. Most plant seeds have complex process of germination, including water, oxygen, temperature availability, genome-wide gene expression, signal transduction, hormones stimulations, inhibitors removal and catalytic protein synthesis. In addition, influences of seeds nutrient values such as, protein, lipids, sugars and free amino acids have a special importance. Regarding, seeds free amino acids. Discussion of these individual factors needs to be put in context of their role in germination processes. Regarding, free amino acids seed storage, there is limited information about their relevant functions in activation and/or deactivation of required metabolic mechanisms and interactive compounds involved in this process in commercial plant cultivars. Therefore, current study was aimed to determine the probable influence of free amino acid compositions of seeds on germination process of two different (Punica granatum L.) pomegranate cultivars including wild type Automi cultivar and edible Khazemi cultivar. In particular, we focused on the impact of amino acids contents variations on germination process and associated AAs compositional changes during various stages of germination and seedlings establishment. Amino acid analysis using HPLC detected all the essential and non-essential amino acids in the raw seeds of the studied cultivars, Automi and Khazemi along with AAs compositional changes occurred during different stages of seed germination. These AAs have been extensively analyzed in the context of their role in dormancy breaking capacities in plants species. Automi raw seeds are rich in Phe, that, is strongly related to ABA synthesis and hence might be responsible for the dormancy of Automi seeds, Khazemi raw seeds have sufficient levels of Arg, Glu and Met that have been reported to enhance seeds germination in plant, therefore Khazemi germination capacity was assumed to be regulated more or less by these AAs. In addition, changes in amino acid composition in the germinated Khazemi cultivar during various stages of seeds germination including imbibition, germination, and sprouts stages have been noticed to change in response with germination demands. This suggests that amino acids reserves in dry seeds are major determinant for germination capacity and germination behavior in the following steps of germination. The noticed particular AAs increase/decrease along the time course of Khazemi pomegranate germination till establishment of heterotrophic seedlings were used as cornerstones for elucidation and deduction of putative function and relevant biochemical pathways controlling initiation of seeds germination and seedlings developments. Based on publicly available databases of model plants and literatures surveys, we established correlations between prevailing AAs factors as biochemical parameters actively involved in seeds dormancy-breaking and germination process

Pore-scale imaging and characterization of mixed-wet carbonate reservoir rock using X-ray microtomography at subsurface conditions

More than a trillion barrels of oil may be extracted from carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East. Oil recovery is known to be controlled by wettability (distribution of contact angles) that determines the pore-scale fluid configuration. However, these contact angles have not hitherto been measured in situ at reservoir conditions for reservoir rock that is saturated with crude oil. We use high resolution three-dimensional non-destructive imaging techniques (X-ray micro-tomography) combined with high-pressure high-temperature flow apparatus to study multiphase flow of crude oil and brine in complex mixed-wet carbonate reservoir rocks at subsurface conditions. The raw X-ray pore-scale images acquired were processed and used to measure oil and brine saturation and to study the in situ pore-scale properties controlling mulitphase flow in permeable media. The first part of this work used X-ray micro-tomography to image the in situ wettability, the distribution of contact angles, at the pore scale in carbonate cores from a producing hydrocarbon reservoir at subsurface conditions. The contact angle was measured at hundreds of thousands of points for three samples after twenty pore volumes of brine flooding. We found a wide range of contact angles with values both above and below 90°. The hypothesized cause of wettability alteration by an adsorbed organic layer on surfaces contacted by crude oil after primary drainage was observed with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and identified using Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. However, not all oil-filled pores were altered towards oil-wet conditions, which suggests that water in surface roughness, or in adjacent micro-porosity, can protect the surface from a strong wettability alteration. The lowest oil recovery was observed for the most oil-wet sample, where the oil remained connected in thin sheet-like layers in the narrower regions of the pore space. The highest recovery was seen for the sample with an average contact angle close to 90°, while an intermediate recovery was observed in a more water-wet system, where the oil was trapped in ganglia in the larger regions of the pore space. In the second part of this work, we have used differential X-ray imaging combined with a steady-state flow apparatus to elucidate the displacement processes during waterflooding. We simultaneously measured relative permeability and capillary pressure on another mixed-wet carbonate sample from the same giant producing oil field. We used the pore-scale images of crude oil and brine to measure the interfacial curvature from which the local capillary pressure was calculated; the relative permeability was found from the imposed fractional flow at eight points fw= 0, 0.15, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.85, 0.95, 1), the image-measured saturation, and the pressure differential measured across the sample. The measured relative permeabilities indicated favourable oil recovery with a cross-over saturation above 60%. Below this saturation water relative permeability is low, while above it oil still flows through thin layers resulting in additional recovery for the mixed-wettability conditions. The pore-scale images showed that brine started to flow through pinned wetting layers and micro-porosity and then filled the centre of the larger pores. Oil was drained to low saturation through connected oil layers. The brine relative permeability remained low until brine invaded a connected pathway of smaller throats, or restrictions in the pore space, at a high brine saturation. The interface between the oil and brine had a small average curvature, indicating a low capillary pressure, but we observed a remarkable saddle-type shape with nearly equal but opposite curvatures in orthogonal directions. This implies good oil phase connectivity, consistent with the favourable recovery and low residual oil saturation attained in the experiments. This work illuminated displacement processes from both macro-pores and micro-pores which have important implications on improved oil recovery and, potentially, on carbon storage. In future, the measured in situ contact angle, relative permeability, capillary pressure and pore-scale fluid distribution could be used to benchmark and validate pore-scale models.Open Acces

Using Machine Learning in Disaster Tweets Classification

People share real-time updates on social media platforms (i.e. Twitter) when disaster occurs, this information is very valuable for disaster relief and response teams as it can alert them immediately in order to prioritize tasks. Text mining and Machine learning algorithm can scan the huge generated unstructured data on social media platforms such as Twitter, to spot such information through keywords and phrases that refers to disasters. One challenge that the algorithm might face is whether a tweet text is talking about a real disaster or uses those keywords as a metaphor, which can lead to huge mislabeling of tweets. Hence, this research aims on using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and classification models to distinguish between real and fake disaster tweets. The dataset was acquired from Kaggle website, and it contain tweets that are related to real disasters, and other tweets that refers to fake disasters. Furthermore, using RStudio software, exploratory data analysis (EDA), feature selections, and data cleaning were performed prior to the data modeling, two different training to testing split were tested. In addition, four classifiers were built, which are SVM, KNN, Naïve Bayes, and XGBoost. As a result, the best accuracies achieved with 80/20 ratio split, and with using the whole dataset rather than sampling, SVM and XGBoost performed well with accuracies of 80% and 78% respectively, while KNN suffered overfitting (99% accuracy) and Naïve Bayes performed poorly (65%)

Factores mediadores en el comportamiento de compra de las personas mayores en supermercados

The following research has been done to analyse the influence of ageing and the factors that determine the purchasing behaviours and response of elderly individuals in supermarkets, focusing on the case of the United Arab Emirates. More specifically, the research has analysed the impacts of age, product range, shelf management, physical surroundings, personal service, food quality, shopping convenience, satisfaction, store loyalty, brand loyalty, attitude, behavioural intentions, cost/benefit estimation, and buying intention on the purchase behaviours of the elderly individuals in supermarkets in UAE. A quantitative method has been used for the research, essentially based on primary data collection and analysis. Primary quantitative surveys have been done with 351 individuals aged 50 years and above, residing mainly in Fujairah, which is one of the emirates in UAE. Survey responses have been analysed using SmartPLS software and Structural Equational Modelling, allowing statistical analysis for the same. The findings of the research suggest that Carrefour and Lulu are the two most visited supermarkets by the elderly in the UAE, with majority of the elderly customers being loyal to the supermarkets. The surveyed customers have been found to have favourable opinion about the product range, and shelf management available in the supermarkets. The ratings obtained for the factor of physical surroundings have been found to be lower than that obtained for the factors of product range and shelf management. For the factor of personal service or customer attention, adequacy has been stated by the surveyed elderlies. The factor of food quality has been found to be an attractive and satisfying factor for the elderly customers to visit the supermarkets. In respect of shopping convenience however, the satisfaction has been found to be less, especially in respect of the excessive crowd prevalent in the supermarkets. Thus, an overall satisfaction has been found to be prevailing among the elderlies with their experiences in supermarkets and they are also found to be store loyal in nature. However, for brand loyalty, customers have been found to be trying other brands to compare and find ones that are better. Further, the findings suggest that the customers have a positive attitude towards deals offered in the supermarkets, although their behavioural intentions towards deals are lower. In respect of the cost/benefit estimation, it has been found that the elderlies have preferences for promotions that can save them on money, and do not prefer to choose high-priced brands. Finally for the buying intention of the customers, they have been found to generally continue shopping from the same place. The research has finally proposed for a conceptual model based on the primary findings as well as the review of literature, suggesting that the buying intention of the elderly customers depend on the factors of behavioural intention toward deals, attitude toward deals and cost/benefit estimation, wherein deals are significantly related with the store and brand loyalties of the customers, and the factor of loyalty being strongly dependent on the satisfaction levels of the customers, which are in turn driven by the factors of product range, shelf management, physical surroundings, personal service, food quality and shopping convenience. The research has therefore concluded that the in-store experiences and the factors that have been discussed and measured in this research have significant influence on the buying intention or purchasing behavioural of the elderly customers in the UAE supermarkets.La siguiente investigación se ha realizado para analizar la influencia del envejecimiento y los factores que determinan los comportamientos de compra y la respuesta de los individuos mayores en los supermercados, centrándose en el caso de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos. Más específicamente, la investigación ha analizado los impactos de la edad, la variedad de productos, la gestión de estanterías, el entorno físico, el servicio personal, la calidad de los alimentos, la conveniencia de compra, la satisfacción, la lealtad a la tienda, la lealtad a la marca, la actitud, las intenciones de comportamiento, la estimación de costos/beneficios y la intención de compra en los comportamientos de compra de los individuos mayores en los supermercados de los EAU. Se ha utilizado un método cuantitativo para la investigación, esencialmente basado en la recopilación y análisis de datos primarios. Se realizaron encuestas cuantitativas primarias con 351 individuos de 50 años y más, residentes principalmente en Fujairah, uno de los emiratos de los EAU. Las respuestas de las encuestas se analizaron utilizando el software SmartPLS y el Modelado de Ecuaciones Estructurales, permitiendo el análisis estadístico de los mismos. Los hallazgos de la investigación sugieren que Carrefour y Lulu son los dos supermercados más visitados por los mayores en los EAU, con la mayoría de los clientes mayores siendo leales a los supermercados. Se encontró que los clientes encuestados tienen una opinión favorable sobre la variedad de productos y la gestión de estanterías disponible en los supermercados. Las calificaciones obtenidas para el factor del entorno físico han sido más bajas que las obtenidas para los factores de variedad de productos y gestión de estanterías. Para el factor de servicio personal o atención al cliente, los mayores encuestados han indicado adecuación. Se ha encontrado que el factor de la calidad de los alimentos es un factor atractivo y satisfactorio para que los clientes mayores visiten los supermercados. Sin embargo, en cuanto a la conveniencia de compra, se ha encontrado que la satisfacción es menor, especialmente con respecto a la multitud excesiva en los supermercados. Así, se ha encontrado una satisfacción general prevalente entre los mayores con sus experiencias en los supermercados y también se ha encontrado que son leales a la tienda. Sin embargo, en cuanto a la lealtad a la marca, se ha encontrado que los clientes están probando otras marcas para comparar y encontrar las que son mejores. Además, los hallazgos sugieren que los clientes tienen una actitud positiva hacia las ofertas en los supermercados, aunque sus intenciones de comportamiento hacia las ofertas son menores. En cuanto a la estimación de costos/beneficios, se ha encontrado que los mayores tienen preferencias por promociones que les permitan ahorrar dinero y no prefieren elegir marcas de alto precio. Finalmente, para la intención de compra de los clientes, se ha encontrado que generalmente continúan comprando en el mismo lugar. La investigación ha propuesto finalmente un modelo conceptual basado en los hallazgos primarios, así como en la revisión de la literatura, sugiriendo que la intención de compra de los clientes mayores depende de los factores de intención de comportamiento hacia las ofertas, actitud hacia las ofertas y estimación de costos/beneficios, donde las ofertas están significativamente relacionadas con las lealtades a la tienda y la marca de los clientes, y el factor de lealtad depende fuertemente de los niveles de satisfacción de los clientes, que a su vez están impulsados por los factores de variedad de productos, gestión de estanterías, entorno físico, servicio personal, calidad de los alimentos y conveniencia de compra. Por lo tanto, la investigación ha concluido que las experiencias en la tienda y los factores que se han discutido y medido en esta investigación tienen una influencia significativa en la intención de compra o comportamiento de compra de los clientes mayores en los supermercados de los EAU

Educational rights for learners with vision impairment in UAE higher education institutions: Addressing the gap between Federal Law No. (29), 2006, and the reality of practice

© The Author(s) 2016. This study explored the relationship between Federal Law No. (29), 2006, of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), concerning the rights of persons with disabilities and the reality of practice for learners with vision impairment (LWVI) in the higher education institutions in that country. The study investigated the extent to which this law meets the educational needs of tertiary LWVI and the effects of this law on the quality of support services provided to such learners. Three groups totalling 34 participants took part in this study: LWVI, support staff working at some universities, and administrators from the country’s Ministries of Education and Higher Education. Qualitative methods were implemented to collect and analyse data for this research. Interviews, observations, and documentary evidence were used to conduct the study. Data for this study were gathered during the academic years 2010-2011 and 2012-2013. Moreover, the author used her own perspective as a person with vision impairment who studied and worked at different educational institutions in the UAE to provide an insight into the data analysis. Results of the study can assist decision-makers at the Ministry of Social Affairs in the UAE to review and develop the articles relating to this area of education policy set down in Federal Law No. (29), 2006, in such a way as to meet the educational needs of such learners. It can also assist universities in the country in providing better access to higher education for learners with visual impairment