Investigating Knowledge Sharing Among Employees in Saudi Governmental Organisations: An Empirical Study

Knowledge is seen as competitive asset for organisations in today’s knowledge-based economy. Knowledge sharing (KS) has its importance in that employees’ knowledge would not turn into organisational knowledge before it is shared all through the corporation. However, scant research has investigated the factors influencing the employees’ knowledge sharing within organisations in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this research was to investigate the underlying factors and relationships that determine the employees’ knowledge sharing behaviour within the Saudi governmental organisations. The theoretical framework of this research is based on the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1982) and the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 2005). This research developed and validated a conceptual model that best explains knowledge sharing among the employees within Saudi governmental organisations. Mixed-method research design was employed to investigate the factors influencing employees’ knowledge sharing behaviour. Furthermore, the study adopted, developed and validated instruments to measure the proposed model key constructs. The main research tool was a survey employing a questionnaire distributed to a sample of 383 employees in five Saudi organisations followed by semi-structured interviews with seven employees. The study synthesized a model of knowledge sharing in which the employees’ intention shapes knowledge-sharing behaviour, while intention is determined by the employees’ attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN), perceived behavioural control (PBC), trust (TR) and propensity or tendency (Tend) to share knowledge. In addition, the model examined the antecedents of the three main beliefs; ATT, SN and PBC. By deconstructing the beliefs, this research looks deeper into the factors influencing knowledge sharing. Moreover, the study looked at the relationship between some of the employees’ demographics and their intentions to share knowledge. The findings of this study revealed that four of the research five factors that were proposed to explain knowledge sharing intention were significant determinants of the employees’ intention to share knowledge. In addition, the findings of the study found evidence for the impact of the decomposed beliefs on ATT, SN and PBC. Yet, time was not found to influence the employees’ PBC. Furthermore, the study findings showed that the employee’s level of education, their organisation’s sector and size are correlated with their intention to share knowledge. In particular, the results show that the employees in Saudi organisations contribute their knowledge because of their natural tendency to share their knowledge, their perceptions of control over contributing their knowledge to other employees, their positive attitude towards sharing knowledge and trust; but surprisingly they are not motivated by the social norms regarding sharing knowledge in this specific context. As such, it is crucial to foster the employees' propensity to share their knowledge as well as eliminate any obstacles on the way to knowledge sharing. Moreover, it is important to enhance the employees’ favourable attitudes and perceptions towards knowledge sharing. Furthermore, this study also demonstrated that trust is a key factor in shaping the employees' intentions to share knowledge, hence, organisation management should foster a trusting culture to reap the benefits of knowledge sharing. Finally, it is hoped that this research will stimulate not only more research on the effects of knowledge sharing, but also more studies in the Saudi context.Saudi Arabia Ministry of Higher Educatio

Degree of disk displacement as a prognostic indicator in arthrocentesis outcomes: clinical and MRI correlation

AIMS: Multiple studies have shown that arthrocentesis is an effective treatment for internal derangement of the temporomandibular joint. However, it is not known which patient groups will respond to this procedure. It is often difficult for surgeons to preoperatively the outcome of athrocentesis. This had led some researchers to analyze and evaluate specific variables which could possibly be used as prognostic factors to predict the outcome of arthrocentesis. None of those studies used the amount of disc displacement as a prognostic factor to assess the treatment outcome of arthrocentesis. Therefore, our study objective was to evaluate the amount of disc displacement as a prognostic factor for the outcome of arthrocentesis in patients with Internal derangement of the tempromandibular joint. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved a retrospective review of the treatment records of 46 patients who underwent arthrocentesis of the TMJ by a single surgeon between 2010 and 2013. A prognostic factor evaluated for its effect on the treatment outcome of TMJ arthrocentesis in this study was the degree of disc displacement. For study purposes, patients were divided into two groups: 1) Success group, and, 2) Failure group. Patients were categorized as successful if they met the success criteria prescribed by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons in 1995. MRI of TMJ was performed in two steps. Initially, oblique parasagittal sections were scanned with a 1.5 T MRI machine. The amount of disc displacement was analyzed from sagittal oblique views of the MRI scans in closed mouth positions by measuring the angle between the posterior band of the articular disc and the center of the condylar head. The disc is considered to be in its normal position when the thicker portion of its posterior band lies within ±10° on the 12 o'clock position. First, the condylar head was identified, and a circle was established to describe the outline of the anterior, posterior, and superior surfaces of the condylar head; this allowed separation of the condylar head from the neck region. Second, the center of the circle was identified and a vertical line was drawn from the center of the circle. The last step was to measure the degree of displacement from this vertical line to the posterior band of the disc. Findings were compared for patients in the two groups for the following variables: age (continuous), disc displacement (continuous), and gender (female or male). P-value were calculated for differences in continuous or categorical variables using a T-test or Pearson's chi-squared test, respectively. The mean MMO, pain and diet scores were also reported in the preoperative group and 12 months postoperative group by outcome status. Statistical significance was set at p < .05 based on a two-tailed test. SPSS was used for all statistical analyses (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, 1997). RESULTS: 46 patients with 46 joints were evaluated in the present study. Average age of patients was 31 years with arrange of 24 to 46 years. 35 cases (76.1%) were classified as successful and 11 cases (23.9%) were classified as unsuccessful based on the criteria described earlier. In the successful group, the mean MMO score was found to be greater at the 12 months postoperative interval when compared to the preoperative examination. In the unsuccessful group, the mean MMO score was also greater than preoperatively at the 12 months postoperative group but to a lesser extent than seen in the successful group. Pain level improved more in the successful group compared to the unsuccessful group. Diet scores showed improvement in chewing ability in the successful group but remain unchanged in the unsuccessful group There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in the degree of anteriorly disc displacement. CONCLUSION: In summary, it has been shown that the degree of disc displacement, preoperative pain level, diet score, and MMO can be used as prognostic factors for the outcome of TMJ arthrocentesis. Future investigations should more carefully evaluate the validity of other variables. Identifying prognostic factors for the outcome on arthrocentesis will help with guiding surgeons in the planned evaluation of TMJ cases. More specifically, clinicians will be able to create tailored treatment modalities based upon prognostic factors

Management of Major Trauma and the Role of Interventional Radiology

This study aimed at exploring the management of major trauma and analyzing the role of interventional radiology for major trauma patients. As there are no prospective randomized controlled trials of interventional radiology in major trauma. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the evidence supporting the use of interventional radiological techniques in the management of major trauma. The study concluded that interventional radiology has become an essential part of the modern trauma unit. Roles in pelvic haemorrhage and aortic injury are now well established and have contributed to improving patient survival and reducing long-term morbidity

Affiliation Oriented Journals: Don’t Worry About Peer Review If You Have Good Affiliation

There has been a growing concern about fraud peer review articles that have been published in some journals in favor of their authors' affiliation, which have been discussed extensively by some researchers. This research paper introduces a new another challenge in academic world concerning journals’ editors who look at authors' affiliations rather than papers' contents. In this short paper, we will introduce this alarming problem and do an experimental test by submitting computer generated papers to some journals and finally present the results of our experiment. The paper is an expression of our concern about providing for maximum high ethics in and quality of publication policy of modern scientific journals

A study of positive exponential consensus on DeGroot model

A nonlinear consensus model is assigned to resolve the consensus problem of multi-agent systems (MAS). Other studies have constructed consensus systems based on low-complexity computation linear equations or complex nonlinear equations. Linear equations are less efficient in reaching a consensus due to their slow computation process, where nonlinear equations are more efficient. The three major challenges in designing nonlinear consensus equations are: building a system of nonlinear equations that have solution, easy to calculate, and less time consuming. This study aims to create a consensus system that is nonlinear and easy to calculate. According to our survey, the DeGroot model (DGM) of 1974 is a linear model and the first effect consensus model with a flexible computation process for finite nodes. We examine if raising the exponential level for the initial cases of agents allows the system to achieve a consensus and move the DGM to a nonlinear level. The results show that by raising the exponent, the DGM is able to reach a consensus. The consensus of the DGM reaches a certain positive value that depends on the initial states of the agents and the transition matrix, whereas the consensus of the proposed exponential DGM (EDGM) reaches zero with a flexible and unrestricted matrix. Moreover, EDGM is a nonlinear model and reaches the consensus faster than the DGM linear model. The results are supported by theoretical evidence and numerical analysis

Experimental and Numerical Study of Texture Evolution and Anisotropic Plastic Deformation of Pure Magnesium under Various Strain Paths

The deformation behavior and texture evolution of pure magnesium were investigated during plane strain compression, simple compression, and uniaxial tension at room temperature. The distinctive stages in the measured anisotropic stress-strain responses and numerically computed strain-hardening rates were correlated with texture and deformation mechanisms. More specifically, in plane strain compression and simple compression, the onset of tensile twins and the accompanying texture-hardening effect were associated with the initial high strain-hardening rates observed in specimens loaded in directions perpendicular to the crystallographic c-axis in most of the grains. The subsequent drop in strain-hardening rates in these samples was correlated with the exhaustion of tensile twins and the activation of pyramidal <c+a> slip systems. The falling strain-hardening rates were observed in simple compression and plane strain compression with loading directions parallel to the c-axis where the second pyramidal <c+a> slip systems were the only slip families that can accommodate deformation. For uniaxial tension with the basal plane parallel to the tensile axis, the prismatic <a> and second pyramidal <c+a> slips are the main deformation mechanisms. The predicted relative slip and twin activities from the crystal plasticity simulations clearly showed the effect of texture on the type of activated deformation mechanisms