Factors Affecting Consumers’ Perception of Electronic Payment in Saudi Arabia

The recent growth and development of technologies has led to considerable improvement in internet technologies. Largely, electronic business services are fulfilling consumers requirements. Electronic payment (e-payment) systems are increasingly popular in Saudi Arabia, due to the widespread use of internet for shopping and banking services. Saudi Arabia has established a centralized online payment system with other online payment services to facilitate sending and/or receiving of services for individuals or corporations via electronic channels.This study has developed a conceptual model to examine the determinants of the significant factors that influence consumers’ perception of e-payment in Saudi Arabia. The findings of a sample set of respondents (229) analyzed using multiple regression analysis indicate that benefit, ease of use, and self-efficacy influence Saudi consumers’ perception of e-payment systems, while trust and security are not significantly associated with consumers’ perception of e-payment. Keywords: electronic payment, consumers’ perception, trust, self-efficacy, ease of use, security

Towards a Heritage-Led Sustainable Post-Conflict Reconciliation: A Policy-Led Perspective

In today’s context, threats to heritage sites posed by armed conflicts are prevalent. This article argues for an urgently needed framework, based on authoritative heritage policy documents, to guide sustainable reconciliation in such circumstances. The methodological approach proposed derives from a content analysis strategy that investigated a selected list of documents. Key extractions are then synthesised to develop useful recommendations for sustainable post-conflict reconciliation in heritage contexts. This conceptual framework also helps to achieve the potential re-nomination of any reconstructed sites which, in turn, provides both additional robust protection of heritage values, and supports sustainable development. This article presents the first part of a broader research study and is intended to communicate the results to a multi-faceted international audience including stakeholders, along with policy and decision makers in the world heritage field. The application of the proposed framework to the world heritage cities of Damascus and Aleppo is the subject of the second part of this research and is presented in a subsequent paper in this special issue of the journal Sustainability

Mapping the Diffusion Tensor in Microstructured Perovskites

Understanding energy transport in semiconductors is critical for design of electronic and optoelectronic devices. Semiconductor material properties such as charge carrier mobility or diffusion length are measured in bulk crystals and determined using models that describe transport behavior in homogeneous media, where structural boundary effects are minimal. However, most emerging semiconductors exhibit microscale heterogeneity. Therefore, experimental techniques with high spatial resolution paired with models that capture anisotropy and domain boundary behavior are needed. We develop a diffusion tensor-based framework to analyze experimental photoluminescence (PL) diffusion maps accounting for material microstructure. Specifically, we quantify both carrier transport and recombination in single crystal and polycrystalline lead halide perovskites by globally fitting diffusion maps, with spatial, temporal, and PL intensity data. We reveal a 29% difference in principal diffusion coefficients and alignment between electronically coupled grains for CH3NH3PbI3 polycrystalline films. This framework allows for understanding and optimizing anisotropic energy transport in heterogeneous materials.Comment: 47 pages, 19 figure

Deep Brain Stimulation in KMT2B-Related Dystonia: Case Report and Review of the Literature With Special Emphasis on Dysarthria and Speech

Objective: KMT2B-related dystonia is a progressive childhood-onset movement disorder, evolving from lower-limb focal dystonia into generalized dystonia. With increasing age, children frequently show prominent laryngeal or facial dystonia manifesting in dysarthria. Bilateral deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus internus (GPi-DBS) is reported to be an efficient therapeutic option. Especially improvement of dystonia and regaining of independent mobility is commonly described, but detailed information about the impact of GPi-DBS on dysarthria and speech is scarce. Methods: We report the 16-months outcome after bilateral GPi-DBS in an 8-year-old child with KMT2B-related dystonia caused by a de-novo c.3043C>T (p.Arg1015*) non-sense variant with special emphasis on dysarthria and speech. We compare the outcome of our patient with 59 patients identified through a PubMed literature search. Results: A remarkable improvement of voice, articulation, respiration and prosodic characteristics was seen 16 months after GPi-DBS. The patients' speech intelligibility improved. His speech became much more comprehensible not only for his parents, but also for others. Furthermore, his vocabulary and the possibility to express his feelings and wants expanded considerably. Conclusion: A positive outcome of GPi-DBS on speech and dysarthria is rarely described in the literature. This might be due to disease progression, non-effectiveness of DBS or due to inadvertent spreading of the electrical current to the corticobulbar tract causing stimulation induced dysarthria. This highlights the importance of optimal lead placement, the possibility of horizontal steering of the electrical field by applying directional stimulation with segmented leads as well as the use of the lowest possible effective stimulation intensity