Assessing social media adoption and maturity in small and medium enterprises: case of Saudi Arabia

The proliferation of social media has changed marketing and branding of organisations around the world. Social media has proved to create business value for companies; however, there is a lack of coherent and sequent studies in the field of social media for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the literature lacks a systematic approach providing a practical means to support SMEs in getting value through social media. Since companies are affected by the social, economic and political circumstances in which they operate, this research focuses on Saudi Arabia-based SMEs. The research aims to develop an online tool based on a social media maturity assessment model that includes maturity criteria, levels of progress and a formula to automatically calculate the overall maturity and provide guidance. Developing such a tool requires studying different aspects related to the use of social media in business and examining their statistical associations. The areas include investigation of social media adoption factors, examination of the social media value to SMEs as well as identification of barriers to success. Moreover, the research examines the maturity level of SMEs in using social media as well as consumers` social media readiness related to interacting with corporate social media accounts in Saudi Arabia. The research used cross-sectional surveys to collect primary data from SMEs, experts and social media users to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that there is high awareness of the usefulness of social media as a marketing channel and strong support from the owners and top management in using such interactive technologies among Saudi SMEs. However, there is also clear evidence that there is a need for training in using social media in these companies which is something that the majority of companies do not provide. The main obstacles that SMEs face when using social media are insufficient dedicated staff as well as a lack of time and skills. The main reasons why SMEs do not use social media are the low perceived usefulness, the perception that there are types of businesses that do not need social media engagement as well as the lack of knowledge and skills in the field. Also, the findings demonstrate that Saudi consumers have positive perception towards using social media to interact with brands. However, there are concerns regarding trust and privacy when using corporate social media accounts. The research develops a social media maturity assessment model for SMES and also discovers new maturity criteria which are statistically associated with the overall social media maturity of companies. These new criteria include: Number of hours dedicated for social media per week, LinkedIn corporate presence, perceived usefulness of social media, consistency of business goals with social media, providing social media training to employees, availability of financial resources and social media infrastructure in the company

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.

Data for Theorising the take-up of ICT : can Valsiner's three zones framework make a contribution?

This paper explores the contribution of theory to understanding the take-up of ICT and, in particular, it describes how Valsiner’s three zones framework came to be used in a study of lecturers in Saudi higher education institutions. The paper describes the value of theory and, in the process, illustrates some of the approaches taken in the literature on teachers’ use of ICT. The challenges faced in theorising are also covered. The paper then gives the background to a study of ICT use among university lecturers before moving to a discussion of methodology and presentation of key findings. Next, attention shifts to explaining key aspects of Valsiner’s zones framework and showing how this framework was applied to explain the modest but differentiated use of ICT across eight institutions. Finally, the paper discusses the strengths and limitations of the zones framework and highlights some of the wider challenges which theorisation pose

Plasma accelerator driven coherent spontaneous emission

Plasma accelerators [1] are a potentially important source of high energy, low emittance electron beams with high peak currents and generated within a relatively short distance. While novel plasma photocathodes [2] may offer improvement to the normalised emittance and brightness of electron beams compared to Radio Frequency-driven accelerators, a challenge is the energy spread and chirp of the beams, which can make FEL operation impossible. In this paper it is shown that such an energy-chirped beam, with a dynamically evolving current profile due to ballistic bunching, can generate significant coherent radiation output via the process of Coherent Spontaneous Emission (CSE) [3]. While this CSE is seen to cause some FEL-induced electron bunching at the radiation wavelength, the dynamic evolution of the energy chirped pulse dampens out any high-gain FEL interaction

Crystal structure of 1,1-dimethyl-3-(2-phenylethyl)urea, C11H16N2O

Abstract C11H16N2O, orthorhombic, Pbca (no. 61), a = 10.7388(6) Å, b = 9.8449(5) Å, c = 21.1259(14) Å, V = 2233.5(2) Å3, Z = 8, R gt (F) = 0.0582, wR ref (F 2) = 0.1795, T = 293 K.</jats:p

Response of crude oil deposited organic layers to brines of different salinity:An atomic force microscopy study on carbonate surfaces

The various microscopic processes that take place during enhanced oil-recovery upon injecting low salinity brines are quite complex, particularly for carbonate reservoirs. In this study, we characterize the in-situ microscopic responses of the organic layers deposited on flat Iceland spar calcite surface to brines of different salinity using Atomic force Microscopy (AFM). Organic layers were deposited from crude oil at the end of a two-step aging procedure. AFM topography images reveal that the organic layers remain stable in high-salinity brines and desorb upon exposure to low-salinity brines. In addition, the organic layers swell in low-salinity brines, and the stiffness of the organic layers is found to directly proportional to the brine salinity. These observations are explained in terms of ‘salting-out’ effects, where the affinity of organic layers to solvent molecules increases upon reducing the brine salinity. The swelling and desorption of organic materials provide access for the brine to mineral surface causing dissolution and change in wetting properties of the surface. Our results show the significance of de-stabilizing the organic layer on rock surfaces in order to design any successful improved oil recovery (IOR) strategy

Effects of ions on the characteristics of monolayer at brine/oil interfaces

The advanced waterflooding technologies through salinity and ionic content adjustment can make favorable impacts on rock wettability and oil recovery. In carbonate reservoirs, SmartWater at low ionic strength showed strong chemical interactions with carbonate minerals and oil components. As a result, several hypotheses are proposed in literature as ionic exchange, rock dissolution, surface charges and others. The applied macroscopic and microscopic technologies have certain limitations in identifying the structures at interfaces especially at monolayers. In this paper, advanced Sum Frequency Generation (SFG) spectroscopy is utilized for the first time to characterize the chemical structures of molecules at the brine/oil interfaces. Different brines recipes and model oil are tested to determine the effects of individual and combined ions on the monolayer structures. Stearic acid is also mixed with hydrocarbons to mimic the acidity condition of fluids in the reservoir. The change in the chemical structure is mo nitored with time at a broad wavenumber range from 1,000 to 3,800 cm-1. Distinct spectral signatures of oil components and water ions are detected at different pH conditions. The SFG data is compared with the previous macroscopic wettability results to predict the components that are highly affected during waterflooding and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. This study brings new insights on understanding the chemical structures at the thin monolayers of flat and curved geometric at different aqueous interfaces. The measured spectra, coupled with a wide range of laser polarization settings, and signal intensity trends are discussed in terms of composition, and structure of organic and inorganic components. For example, the intensity for SmartWater at certain wavenumber is three folds higher when compared to high salinity water. This indicates that the interactions at oil/water interfaces are enhanced at lower ionic strengths. In addition, these findings are also confirmed with similar behaviors at a higher salinity brine as connate formation brine. The novelty of this interfacial study can provide better understanding of the reaction mechanisms altering the ionic strength and salinity of injection water and its impact due to the changes in geometric interfaces. Such understanding is also crucial to optimize the chemistry of injection water and its interaction with oil components and carbonate rock, to ultimately alter wettability toward water-wet

Tribological studies of bamboo fibre reinforced epoxy composites using a BOD technique

To reduce the emission of harmful materials into the ecosystem, researchers have been exploring the potential of manufacturing polymeric composites based on natural fibres. Although the large area of application of these materials has encouraged investigations of their performance under various loading conditions, less research has been conducted on their tribological behaviour. Hence, in this study, tribological tests were conducted on epoxy composites based on bamboo fibres. The wear performance of bamboo fibre reinforced epoxy was tested using various operating parameters, and the worn surfaces were examined using optical microscopy. The results revealed that the specific wear rate of the composites reduced since the epoxy was reinforced with bamboo fibres. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed different wear mechanisms and damages