Testing The FDI Hypothesis Of Location Advantage In The Case Of Kuwait

This study examines the determining factors of FDI inflows in Kuwait. Data sample covers the period from 1975 to 2013. In this study, estimates are tested using Augmented Dickey and Fuller, Johansen Co-integration tests and Error Correction Model (ECM). Results of the Johansen test show that all variables are co-integrated with the Kuwait’s FDI inflows in the long run. Interestingly, factors of market size, economic development, financial deepening, number of population, infrastructure development, openness, and oil rent have long run relationship with the FDI inflows in Kuwait. In the short run, findings also show that the short-run models are in equilibrium

How do mid-level leaders communicate with white collar workers in a multi-national setting?

Managing employees from different cultural and national backgrounds within international business organizations is one of the greatest challenges that mid-level leaders face in the new millennium because of the broad range of communication difficulties that can arise (Cox, 1991; Cupach & Imahori, 1993; Fitzsimmons, 2013; Ietto-Gillies, 2005; Lisak & Erez, 2015; Oliveira, 2013). The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of the communication strategies and tactics of mid-level leaders in one major multinational company with a sizable multinational workforce, Saudi Aramco. The theoretical framework for this study was Communication Accommodation Theory (e.g., Giles, 2014; Giles, Coupland, & Coupland, 1991, 2007). The principal survey instrument employed was the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (Downs & Hazen, 1977). Only 7 demographic variables (education, age, gender, nationality match, language match, income, and duration of time with the company) had any significant correlations with the Seven Dimensions Of Communication Satisfaction proposed by Downs and Hazen (1977), but the strength of all those correlations was weak, with the exception of education. The more education the participants had, the more satisfied they were with their job. Interestingly, in a culture in which gender differences play such an important role, there were no significant differences by gender in the workforce at Saudi Aramco. It was notable however, that the most satisfied employees were those who had been at the company the longest. National and language differences also played almost no role in employee satisfaction, most likely because the whole workforce is fluent in English. The employees did place some significance on what Suchan (2014) describes as Arabic styles of persuasion, which favor: (a) the use of repetition and paraphrasing to make a point, (b) the use of highly ornate and metaphoric language, and (c) the use of strong emotion. Finally, in comparing the employees’ responses to Goleman’s (2000) Six Styles of Leadership, the researcher discovered that the workers at Saudi Aramco relate most of all to Goleman’s affiliative, coaching, and democratic leadership styles

Corporate Governance and Islamic Social Responsibility Disclosure In Kuwaiti Shariah Compliant Financial Institutions

This study examines the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and the extent of Islamic social responsibility disclosure in Kuwait. The annual reports of 40 Shariah-compliant financial institutions listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in 2010 are examined. Four major corporate governance characteristics are investigated: 1) the existence of a Shariah supervisory board; 2) the number of board members; 3) the proportion of non-executive directors to the total number of directors on the board; and 4) role duality. The extent of Islamic social responsibility disclosure is measured using a self-constructed index. The index consists of 46 Islamic information items. Multivariate regression analyses are used to examine the relationships between these characteristics and the level of Islamic social responsibility disclosure. The results show that Shariah-compliant financial institutions disclosed 18% on average of the possible voluntary disclosure items. The findings report that Islamic social responsibility disclosure increases with the presence of a Shariah supervisory board, but decreases with role duality. Other corporate governance characteristics were found not to be significant in the study

OIL SPILLS DETECTION BY MEANS OF UAS AND INEXPENSIVE AIRBORNE THERMAL SENSORS

This thesis provides an overview of oil spill scenarios and the remote sensing methods used for detection and mapping the spills. It also discusses the different kinds of thermal sensors used in oil spills detection. As UAS is becoming an important player in the oil and gas industry for the low operating costs involved, this research involved working with a cheap thermal airborne sensor mounted on DJI Phantom 4 system. Data was collected in two scenarios, first scenario is collecting data in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula at a petroleum company location and the second scenario was an indoor experiment simulating an offshore spill. The aim of this research is to inspect the capability of Lepton LWIR inexpensive sensor to detect the areas contaminated with oil. Data processing to create classification maps involved using ArcGIS 10.5.1, ERDAS Imagine 2015 and ENVI 5.3. Depending accuracy assessment (confusion matrices) for the classified images and comparing classified images with ground truth, results shows the Lepton thermal sensor worked well in differentiating oil from water and was not a good option when there are many objects in the area of interest. Future research recommendations are presented in this document

Saudi English as a foreign language learners\u27 attitudes toward computer -assisted language learning

This study investigated Saudi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Learners\u27 attitudes toward Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) at the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) in Saudi Arabia. Five research questions were developed: (1) What are the Saudi EFL learners\u27 general attitudes toward CALL at the IPA? (2) What are Saudi EFL learners\u27 attitudes toward the CALL software used at the IPA? (3) What are the differences between IPA Saudi EFL learners\u27 attitudes toward CALL based on their years of English learning? (4) What are the differences between IPA Saudi EFL learners\u27 attitudes toward CALL based on their current computer knowledge? (5) What are the differences between IPA Saudi EFL learners\u27 attitudes toward CALL based on their gender?;The research questionnaire was administered to a total of 578 participants, including students from several levels of English language proficiency, major areas of study, and three distinct locations. Statistical methods including standard deviation, mean, regression analysis, and t-test were used to analyze data.;The findings indicated that the Saudi EFL learners\u27 attitudes toward CALL and the software were positive. The results of the regression analysis showed that computer knowledge and gender served as the best predictors of learners\u27 attitudes toward CALL. The t-test findings showed that Saudi female EFL learners had more positive attitudes toward CALL than their male counterparts.;The findings of this study will help to improve the use of CALL at the IPA and other college-level institutions in Saudi Arabia

Investigating Academic Staff Members’ Perspectives Of The Effectiveness Of The Use Of E-learning Skills In Teaching In Saudi Arabia Universities

Higher education institutions in many countries around the world are facing serious challenges from expansion, leading to a number of developments in the process of integrating information and communication technologies into university practices. E- learning is a revolutionary development that is fast becoming one of the most popular learning environments in the field of education in most universities globally, including in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has witnessed an unprecedented growth in higher education as a result of the increasing pace of advances in technology and especially developments in the use of E-learning at University level. This research investigated male academic staff members’ perspectives of the effectiveness of the use of e-learning skills in teaching at four Saudi universities. It also provides insight into faculty members' attitudes towards the use of E-learning in the teaching and learning process, and their visions of possible and preferred usage of ICT in education in the future. In order to answer these questions, the study used a mixed method design combining a quantitative research approach with academic staff members (questionnaires), and a qualitative approach research with administrative staff and policy makers (interviews). The analysis of 375 questionnaires by academic staff members was complemented with semi-structured interviews of administrative staffs and policy makers at university level, in order to validate the questionnaire results and to gain a deeper insight in supporting the interpretation of the data so as to understand the research problem. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were checked and statistical treatments such as percentages, means, frequencies, standard deviation and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted. The results indicated that academic staff members have positive attitudes towards the using of E-learning in their teaching and the educational process, with positive agreement in all three dimensions covered by the research. Significant variables within this positive rating included academic qualification and years of academy experience. This means that length of experience is important. Overall, the study shows the enthusiasm of academic staff members in terms of their motivation for the use of E-learning in their teaching, through their responses to the questionnaire. In addition, the study identifies several obstacles indicated by faculty members, which can be regarded as being at university level such as the absence of an institutional policy for e-learning. A number of other obstacles were identified, including such as a lack of integration of technical support, lack of support in instructional design for E-learning and lack of adequate training in the use of E-learning techniques. The study concludes with some recommendations, to find suitable and more effective solutions as well as suggestions for future research

Saudization and Skill Formation for Employment in the Private Sector

The development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been associated with its growing petroleum industry since late 1930s. This development has created a sudden wealth in the country that shaped its labour market as well as its skill formation systems in the years after. It has also, thanks to the government involvement, developed the country’s world class economy and its evolving private sector. However, this involvement has also created a duel labour market in which Saudis expect employment in the government while expatriates are continuously employed in private organizations. Employment in the government was always available to Saudis regardless of their qualifications which are dominated by theoretical literary majors over scientific and technical degrees. In the early days of the country’s development this did not produce major concerns to the government nor to Saudis. However, the country is producing one of the highest growth rates in the world with the majority of its citizens are under the age of 19. Government employment is always limited as the majority of employment opportunities are available in the country’s private sector. Since the late 1980s, this has generated high rates of unemployment among Saudis as government employment reached its peak and as the private sector continues in recruiting millions of cheap expatriates to increase its profits and competitiveness. This is creating an unbalanced labour market structure as well as economic, political and social problems. A number of government initiatives have been introduced to rectify such dilemma. One of which is Saudization to replace the country’s 4.7 million of expatriates recruited mainly (95%) in the private sector with as many qualified Saudis as possible. However, such efforts has not yet produced fruitful results as the private sector is still recruiting expatriates and as skill formation systems are still producing Saudis with incompatible skills, knowledge and attitudes with the private labour market needs. This research assumes that ineffective Saudization in the private sector is not the core problem of the employment process in Saudi Arabia. In fact it is the outcome of the government’s heavy and unnecessary involvement and control over skill formation systems in the Kingdom especially over the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVT) which is the main skill formation provider for the private labour market This involvement imposes the government’s rigid bureaucracy and limited funding on a very dynamic, flexible and self-sufficient economy like the private market in Saudi Arabia that is operating in a very competitive and changeable environment. Investigation of such argument against empirical findings from interviews with a number of government, quasigovernment and private sector managers supports such conclusion. It even illustrates that government involvement and bureaucratization is hindering the implementation of Saudization strategy itself in private organizations. Recommendations are made about changing the role of GOTEVT to create industry-led training organizations to serve and link the outcomes of this skill formation organization to the employment needs of the labour market and to the needs of the economy in general

Traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia: a study of their causes and association with driver behaviour, with specific reference to the eastern region

A high incidence of road accidents has been recorded in Saudi Arabia in recent years (Traffic Department Statistics 1991). Various factors might have accounted for this high rate of road accidents; the aim of this research, therefore, was to examine what factors contribute to road accidents in the country.In pursuit of this aim, a review of relevant literature on factors related with road accidents in many countries of the world was undertaken. Through this review, a list of road, vehicle and driver-related variables was selected for investigation in this study.The target population for the study was 4,100 drivers in Eastern Saudi Arabia who had been involved in road accidents in the period. Out of this population, a sample of 600 drivers was selected. The instrument used to collect data for the study was a questionnaire which requested demographic information on factors which had caused them to have an accident, and questions analysing habitual driving behaviour. Drivers were also tested on their knowledge of road signs. Returns were received from 484 drivers, 81% of the study sample.Two statistical techniques, chi square and correlation coefficient Spearman Brown formula, were utilised to test the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable - the number of road accidents.The findings of the study show that certain variables were significantly associated with road accidents in Saudi Arabia. Among the significant variables were the age of the driver, education level, profession, violation record, vehicle ownership, joy-riding, poor eye sight, sun haze, sand storm, long hours driving, non-observance of speed limit, emerging and exiting from roads without signals, presence of stray animals, non-marking of the road, non-familiarity with the road, lack of regular checking of vehicles, lack of regular servicing of vehicles and driving under medication.The variables that were not significant include marital status, non-possession of a licence, mechanical fault, reversing, non-alertness to others' errors, use of high beam lights while driving, non-lighting of the roads, passengers' behaviour, ear disorder.Conclusions were drawn as to deficiencies in driver training in Saudi Arabia and inadequacies of supervision by the law enforcement agents. It is recommended that policy makers should make intensive efforts in organising training programmes and seminars for drivers and curriculum of driving schools should be expanded. Measures for improving enforcement of traffic regulations are made, and it is suggested that an Islamic insurance policy for vehicles should be introduced in the country. Finally, suggestions are made for further research