The Relationship Between Leadership Style and Faculty Members’ Job Satisfaction at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Research Focus. My research focused on examining the relationship between leadership style and faculty members’ job satisfaction at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The main objective of this research was to analyze the connection in the styles of leadership and job satisfaction in the higher education sector in Saudi Arabia. My study aimed to provide insights necessary to help Saudi Arabian higher education institutions increase employee satisfaction. I was guided in this research by the following research questions: (1) What is the prevailing leadership style of the heads of departments as perceived by their faculty members at the College of Economics and Administration, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? (2) Is there a relationship between the leadership styles of the heads of departments, as perceived by their faculty members, and the overall job satisfaction of faculty members at the College of Economics and Administration, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? (3) To what extent does the leadership style of the heads of departments, as perceived by their faculty members, predict faculty members\u27 overall job satisfaction after controlling the effect of other demographic variables at the College of Economics and Administration, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? I tested these hypotheses: H20: There is no statistically significant relationship between the perceived leadership style of the heads of departments and the overall job satisfaction of their faculty members at the College of Economics and Administration, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, H2a: There is a statistically significant relationship between the perceived leadership style of the heads of departments and the overall job satisfaction of their faculty members at the College of Economics and Administration, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, H30: The perceived leadership style of the heads of departments does not predict the overall job satisfaction of their faculty members at the College of Economics and Administration, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, H3a: The perceived leadership style of the heads of departments predicts the overall job satisfaction of their faculty members at the College of Economics and Administration, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I identified various leadership theories in my research. Effective leadership is influenced by factors such as the nature of the organization, its goals, and the people who follow the leader. The aim of my study was to provide insights into applicable leadership theories to help Saudi Arabian higher education institutions increase employee satisfaction. I used a quantitative, non-experimental correlation methodology in this study that aimed to examine whether the leadership styles of the chairs of the department heads (independent variables) correspond with faculty job satisfaction (dependent variable). I conducted the study at the University of King Abdul Aziz in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, among the faculty of the College of Economics and Administration, targeting all faculty members in the college from all departments in the college. The data for the study were collected through two closed-ended, cross-sectional surveys using SurveyMonkey. Research Methods. I used a correlational research design because it was the best choice for achieving the study’s objectives of assessing the relationship between department heads’ styles of leadership and job satisfaction among faculty at a university. The study’s independent variables were Transformational Leadership (TF), Transactional Leadership (TA), and Passive/Avoidant Leadership (P/A), and the dependent variable was faculty job satisfaction. Regression analysis was also used to determine whether the independent variables could predict the dependent variable. A post-positivism frame served as the foundation for this work. I used a quantitative technique to collect data because it was more effective than a qualitative approach in addressing the research questions. Additionally, statistical analysis could lead to a more general conclusion. The population of the study included all faculty members in the College of Economics and Administration at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, available during the academic year of 2022-2023. I contacted all population members through the university research center. However, only faculty members that were available and accessible during a 2-month window were included in the study. The study population included only faculty members who had worked for at least 1 academic year to ensure that they had spent enough time to form an opinion about the department head leadership style. The study used the demographic survey, the MLQ, and the MSQ as the three tools to administer an online survey using SurveyMonkey. Combining data collection methods increased the variety of information offered for generalizability and useful recommendations. The study conducted a G*power study to determine the required number of participants for correlation tests and the analysis of multiple regression. An average of 84 participants were required to meet the G-minimum power’s sample size requirement. Research Results/Findings. The analyzed results showed that Transformational was the most often used leadership style (M = 1.914, SD =.390), followed by Transactional (M = 1.87, SD =.44), and that Passive/Avoidant conduct was rarely utilized (M = 1.84, SD = .40). According to the study\u27s findings, department heads at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah generally employ the Transactional and Transformational leadership styles. The Faculty of Economics and Administration\u27s department heads did not regularly employ the Passive/Avoidant leadership style. The study indicated that overall job satisfaction among faculty members was just more favorable to satisfaction than to dissatisfaction. Conclusions from Research. According to the study’s findings, department heads’ leadership practices have a big influence on how satisfied faculty members are at work. The results indicate that the most common leadership Transformational and Transactional styles are used. The application of these leadership styles is consistent with earlier research that has shown the superior efficacy of Transformational and Transactional leadership styles in the higher education sector. Passive/Avoidant leadership style was not widely adopted, which may have an impact on faculty members’ job satisfaction. According to research, leadership style can increase employee happiness by setting clear objectives and goals. The lack of a Passive/Avoidant leadership style may be a result of institutional and cultural tendencies to value teamwork and collectivism over individual success. According to the study\u27s findings, faculty members are generally content with their jobs, which is in line with findings from earlier studies in the higher education field. There is still potential for growth, and the study’s findings show that department heads should concentrate on leadership styles that support worker satisfaction and wellbeing

Imaging beneath standing bodies of water in karst terrain

Side scan sonar and down scan sonar, sub bottom profiling, electrical resistivity tomography profiling (underwater cables), and continuous resistivity profiling (towed cable) surveys were conducted to characterize the lake sediments (rock and soil) beneath the man-made Little Prairie Lake, in central Missouri. Sub bottom profiling and electrical resistivity (with marine cables and towed cable) were used to determine variability in the lithology and thickness of sediments (soil and rock) beneath the lake, while side scan sonar was used to map the variations in the lithology/nature of exposed lakebed sediments and to locate the potential hazard of trees. Down scan sonar and sub bottom profiling were utilized to measure the water depth. On land, electrical resistivity tomography was used with multi-channel analysis of surface wave method to determine sediments, joints, and the depth of bedrock. Analyses of the acquired data revealed the location and orientation of the original stream channels (prior to the construction of the earth fill dam). The side scan sonar mapped the variations in the biomass at the bottom of the lake. Underwater electrical resistivity tomography and continuous resistivity profiling determined joints, sediments, and bedrock underneath water bodies. Using integrated marine geophysical tools help to evaluate the sub surface prior to any construction project (dam or bridge), are useful in determining the characteristics of lithology (fractured rock, intact rock and soil), and make it possible to map benthic habitat and the submerged potential hazards of trees on the lakebed as well as accurately measuring water depth --Abstract, page iii

Federated learning using OPAL

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2018.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 67-68).Wisdom of the crowds (WOC) is an old concept that started by recording and aggregating people's estimations. It is one of the useful tools that exists today and allows many estimation applications to work correctly. Moreover, Open algorithms (OPAL) is a useful platform that enables institutions and individuals to share sensitive data, and increases the privacy of the data. In addition, federated learning is a new way to build and generate machine learning models by aggregating their hyperparameters. In this thesis, I show how to combine the three different concepts to build machine learning models on top of OPAL that utilize federated learning on a network. I then extend OPAL to support this new feature and demonstrate how to build a machine learning model using small independent models.by Abdulrahman Alotaibi.S.M

Project Management Practice: Redefining Theoretical Challenges in the 21st Century

From the incessant project failures, project delay and cost overrun to extreme difficulty in agreeing on what constitute project success and project management success, project management practice is more challenging in the 21st century than previously propounded. Therefore, the theoretical challenges facing project management practice were examined and the research findings indicate several ways in which the use of project management methods and standards can help in delivering successful output. This work has significant implications in the way project managers actually manage projects in practice. For example, we proposed that project management theory and practice are interdependent only when project management theories are beneficial and can be applied. This proposition has implications on project management practice because if project management theories are not particularly applied to manage current projects then it would be difficult to assess project management validity. In conclusion, the research limitations are highlighted and recommendations for future research were made. Key words: project management practice, project failures, project and complexity, project evaluation and performance.

Molecular and Physiological Indicators of Drought Stress in Soft White Spring Wheat at the Vegetative Stage Development

Drought stress has negative effects at all wheat stages and can reduce the total yield by 50%. Two greenhouse were executed one for RNA sequencing and the other one was for chlorophyll fluorescence measurements under drought stress. Transcriptomic analyses via RNA sequencing of two soft white spring wheat at vegetative stage development were achieved under three conditions. The treatments involved well-watered (WW, 100%, 236 ml) as control, moderate stressed (MS, 50%, 118 ml) and severe stressed (SS, 25%, 59 ml). The RNA sequencing datasets from Alpowa contained 690,857; 663,526 and 652,705 reads from WW MS and SS, whereas the Idaho datasets were 523,643; 485,527 and 489,436 reads under WW, MS and SS, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis of the sequence data was performed and in general, Idaho showed 3.1 times more of up regulated and 2.7 times more down regulated differentially expressed genes than Alpowa. The top twenty GO terms were performed for biological processes of up and down regulated transcripts that are differentially expressed in response to MS and SS in comparison to the WW condition. The results suggest that transcription/translation and their associated regulation are the most active biological processes for differential gene expression in vegetative tissues from water limited soft white spring wheat plants. Another two greenhouse experiments for photosynthetic measurements (Long Drought Period vs. Acute Drought Period) were executed. A modulated fluorimeter has been used to compare the effects of long term and acute water limitations imposed on two cultivars in order to determine photochemical differences between soft white spring wheat cultivars, among stress intensities and over several sampling dates. Alpowa and Idaho showed significant differences in terms of Y (II) on May 12 only for all stress intensity treatments (WW, MS, SS for Alpowa and WW, SS for Idaho). The data from Y (II) and Y (NO) suggest that the effect observed on May 12th is not associated with stress imposition but may be the result of leaf maturation and pre-metabolic conversion to complete reproductive function. Both Fv/Fm and Y (II) measure the same response.Crop Scienc

Estimating total factor productivity in the Saudi Arabia construction sector

The study aims to estímate the total factor productivity in Saudi Arabia construction sector. Using Cobb Douglas production function. The results showed that that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship between the value of production and the factors of production labour  and capital. The study also showed that the coefficient of labour  is positive with a value of 0.015. While the elasticity of production with respect to capital is about 0.42 the elasticity of production with respect to the capital component is greater than the labour  component and the construction sector in KSA operates in light of decreasing returns to scale (DRS). The results indicates that the construction sector in Saudi Arabia during the coming years will witness a positive growth rate with interest in strengthening the partnership between the government and the private sector in order to develop the construction sector. The study also recommends expanding the production process within the construction sector and moving towards research and development in the field of construction and working to increase investment in the human capital component by training employment and encouragement of investment, in addition to, loans facilitates to the construction sector

Microbiological Contamination of Mobile Phones of Clinicians in Intensive Care Units and Neonatal Care Units in Public Hospitals in Kuwait

Background: The objective of this study was to explore the prevalence of microbiological contamination of mobile phones that belong to clinicians in intensive care units (ICUs), pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), and neonatal care units (NCUs) in all public secondary care hospitals in Kuwait. The study also aimed to describe mobile phones disinfection practices as well as factors associated with mobile phone contamination. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included all clinicians with mobile phones in ICUs, PICUs, and NCUs in all secondary care hospitals in Kuwait. Samples for culture were collected from mobile phones and transported for microbiological identification using standard laboratory methods. Self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data on mobile phones disinfection practices. Results: Out of 213 mobile phones, 157 (73.7 %, 95 % CI [67.2-79.5 %]) were colonized. Coagulase-negative staphylococci followed by Micrococcus were predominantly isolated from the mobile phones; 62.9 % and 28.6 % of all mobile phones, respectively. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Gram-negative bacteria were identified in 1.4 % and 7.0 % of the mobile phones, respectively. Sixty-eight clinicians (33.5 %) reported that they disinfected their mobile phones, with the majority disinfecting their mobile phones only when they get dirty. The only factor that was significantly associated with mobile phone contamination was whether a clinician has ever disinfected his/her mobile phone; adjusted odds ratio 2.42 (95 % CI [1.08-5.41], p-value = 0.031). Conclusion: The prevalence of mobile phone contamination is high in ICUs, PICUs, and NCUs in public secondary care hospitals in Kuwait. Although some of the isolated organisms can be considered non-pathogenic, various reports described their potential harm particularly among patients in ICU and NCU settings. Isolation of MRSA and Gram-negative bacteria from mobile phones of clinicians treating patients in high-risk healthcare settings is of a major concern, and calls for efforts to consider guidelines for mobile phone disinfection

A Comprehensive Collection and Analysis Model for the Drone Forensics Field

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are adaptable and rapid mobile boards that can be applied to several purposes, especially in smart cities. These involve traffic observation, environmental monitoring, and public safety. The need to realize effective drone forensic processes has mainly been reinforced by drone-based evidence. Drone-based evidence collection and preservation entails accumulating and collecting digital evidence from the drone of the victim for subsequent analysis and presentation. Digital evidence must, however, be collected and analyzed in a forensically sound manner using the appropriate collection and analysis methodologies and tools to preserve the integrity of the evidence. For this purpose, various collection and analysis models have been proposed for drone forensics based on the existing literature; several models are inclined towards specific scenarios and drone systems. As a result, the literature lacks a suitable and standardized drone-based collection and analysis model devoid of commonalities, which can solve future problems that may arise in the drone forensics field. Therefore, this paper has three contributions: (a) studies the machine learning existing in the literature in the context of handling drone data to discover criminal actions, (b) highlights the existing forensic models proposed for drone forensics, and (c) proposes a novel comprehensive collection and analysis forensic model (CCAFM) applicable to the drone forensics field using the design science research approach. The proposed CCAFM consists of three main processes: (1) acquisition and preservation, (2) reconstruction and analysis, and (3) post-investigation process. CCAFM contextually leverages the initially proposed models herein incorporated in this study. CCAFM allows digital forensic investigators to collect, protect, rebuild, and examine volatile and nonvolatile items from the suspected drone based on scientific forensic techniques. Therefore, it enables sharing of knowledge on drone forensic investigation among practitioners working in the forensics domain

Treatment of Hypertensive Crisis Using Beta Blockers Vs Diuretics: Review

Current review aiming to evaluate and the advantage and disadvantage and also to discuss the differences in use and combination therapy of beta blockers VS diuretics in the treatment of hypertensive crisis.  Literature were search on topic concerning the treatment of hypertensive crisis, using biomedical databases; PubMed, and Embase, up to August, 2017.  Patients with hypertensive crises could call for immediate reduction in raised high blood pressure to stop and also detain modern end-organ damage. The best scientific setup in which to attain this blood pressure control remains in the intensive care unit, with making use of titratable intravenous hypotensive agents. Beta-blocker- based therapy, numerous possible randomized trials have recorded that diuretic-based treatment is efficient in reducing morbidity and also mortality in hypertensive patients. The advantages of diuretic therapy have actually been shown to be more significant in the senior compared to in younger patients. The result of diuretics is especially articulated when it comes to decrease of the risk of stroke and also somewhat less excellent with regard to the reduction of the danger of coronary heart disease. Keywords: Hypertension, Diuretics Therapy, Beta Blocker, Hypertensive Crisis