Bakgrund: Saudiarabien har enligt statistik från WHO bland de lägsta suicidtalen i världen samtidigt som den saudiska regeringen misstänks underrapportera suicidtalen då detta är ett tabubelagt ämne. Det förekommer få vetenskapliga saudiska studier inom ämnet och massmedia övervakas av den saudiska regeringen. Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka huruvida och i vilken utsträckning suicid speglas av saudiska suicidstudier och saudisk massmedia samt om speglingen mellan suicidstudierna och massmedia skiljer sig åt. Syftet gällde även att undersöka hur saudisk massmedia rapporterar om inhemska suicid utifrån den sociala representationsteorins förankrings- och objektifieringsbegrepp. Även en hypotes om underrapportering av suiciddata i saudiska suicidstudier och inom saudisk massmedia prövades. Material och Metoder: De saudiska suicidstudierna som framkommit genom en databassökning sammanställdes för att kunna beräkna suicidtalen. Sedan utfördes en sökning efter suicidrelaterade artiklar på saudiska tidningars hemsidor. Därefter gjordes en medieanalys enligt social representationsteori på de suicidrelaterade artiklar som publicerats på tidningen al-Hayats hemsida. Resultat: Bilden av suicid skiljer sig åt mellan saudisk massmedia och saudiska suicidstudier gällande antalet årliga suicid och könsfördelningen. Saudisk massmedia, i form av al-Hayat, målar upp suicidfenomenet som något skrämmande som främst drabbar utländska gästarbetare. Al-Hayat lyfter visserligen olika nyanser av suicid, men undviker att rapportera om aktuella suicidfall bland saudiska medborgare. De saudiska suicidstudierna ter sig rimliga avseende könsuppdelning, suicidmetoder och åldersspann, men inte avseende antalet årliga suicid och antalet saudiska medborgare kontra gästarbetare som suiciderar. Slutsats: Skillnader i suicidrapporteringen mellan saudiska suicidstudier och saudisk massmedia förekommer. Saudisk massmedia beskriver suicid som något skrämmande och rapporterar inte om aktuella suicid bland saudiska medborgare. Saudiska suicidstudier ter sig underrapportera antalet årliga suicid i landet. / Introduction: Saudi Arabia has according to statistics from WHO one of the lowest suicide numbers in the world. At the same time the Saudi government is suspected to report too low suicide numbers since suicide is a social stigma. There are few scientific studies on the subject and the media is constantly being monitored by the Saudi government. Aims: The aims were to examine whether and to what extent suicide is reflected by Saudi suicide studies and Saudi media and if there are any differences between Saudi suicide studies and Saudi media in this regard. The aim was also to examine how Saudi media reports about domestic suicides according to notions of anchoring and objectification of social representation theory. Also a hypothesis of under reporting of suicide data in Saudi suicide studies and Saudi media was tested. Material and Methods: The Saudi suicide studies, which were found through a database search, were compiled in order to calculate the suicide numbers. After that, a search for suicide related articles on the homepages of Saudi newspapers was conducted. Thereafter, an analysis of social representation theory was conducted for the suicide related articles which were published on the homepage of the newspaper al-Hayat. Results: The picture of suicide differs between the Saudi media and the Saudi suicide studies regarding the number of yearly suicides and the distribution between genders. The Saudi media, in form of al-Hayat, describes the suicide phenomenon as something frightening that mainly affects guest workers. Al-Hayat does put forward different aspects of suicide, but holds off from reporting of current suicide cases of Saudi citizens. The Saudi suicide studies seem reasonable regarding the distribution of genders, the methods of suicide and the age range, but not regarding the number of yearly suicides and the number of Saudi citizens versus guest workers who commit suicide. Conclusions: There are differences in the reporting of suicides between Saudi suicide studies and Saudi media. The Saudi media describes suicide as something frightening and does not report of current suicides among Saudi citizens. Saudi suicide studies seem to under report the number of yearly suicides in the country.

Judicious modeling of an energy system can help provide insights as to how elements of the energy system might be configured in the longer term. The current and future electricity and water desalination systems of each GCC country were represented using a full-cost based optimization tool called MESSAGE and the following scenarios were examined: 1. The business as usual scenario (BAU): current energy system is extended into the future without any changes. The energy system structure and characteristics are kept the same. The fuel prices are also kept at the current subsidized levels. 2 - The netback-pricing scenario: all fuel costs are increased to the international market price. The freed amount of fuel is assumed to be available for export to the international market. Moreover, this scenario examines different carbon tax options of 0, 20,30 ,40 and 50 dollars per kilo tons of CO2 emissions. 3 - The Nuclear hub scenario: examines the idea of a “nuclear hub” state for the GCC region that can have all the “know-how” and logistics to provide sufficient nuclear energy for the GCC through the Interconnection Grid “GCCIG”. Results shows that fossil fuels will continue to play an important role in a least cost future for the region. This is due, in no small part, to the cheap natural gas resources in the GCC. Despite the high renewable energy technologies potential, their penetration – given the study assumptions - proved to be important, but limited in the GCC. On the other hand, nuclear energy shows clear economic potential.

In the last decade, the rapid development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has forced its government to implement modern management styles such as Total Quality Management (TQM) to ensure continuous improvement in the provision of healthcare. There is a considerable body of literature that shows the benefits of implementing TQM in hospitals, but there are few empirical studies that show TQM implementation efforts in the healthcare sector. Furthermore, the healthcare literature did not explore the implementation of TQM in a context of gender segregated environment such as the case in KSA. This research project is an exploratory investigation assessing the impact of TQM in a gender segregated healthcare environment such as KSA. The research design used triangulation methods to investigate the problem at hand. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used through field-work and external comparisons. The approach was based on the following: (1) Assessing the level of perception and understanding of TQM principles in several KSA hospitals, taking into account the differences and similarities between the different gender population, (2) Examining the approach to TQM implementation and its degree of effectiveness in four Saudi hospitals to highlight critical factors for effective implementations using the Baldrige assessment method; (3) Benchmarking the Saudi hospital experiences to UK and USA hospitals to highlight key facilitating and inhibiting factors; (4) Using key findings from the previous steps to identify the critical factors and propose a model for TQM implementations in a segregated healthcare environment such as the case in the KSA. The survey research findings show a weak appreciation, awareness and understanding of TQM in managing healthcare organisations by the respondents in the KSA. It clearly shows that many employees in the organisations do riot understand TQM. The degree of emphasis for each quality activity varied and thus more research needs to be done to investigate the importance of each quality activity to a TQM implementation process, as there are varying degrees of emphasis across the board. The KSA case studies show that in implementing organisations, TQM intentions and TQM policy frameworks are generally acceptable. However, the implementation process is generally weak and lacks coordination in the majority of these organisations. It is clear that the majority of the KSA cases have not succeeded in total commitment towards a total quality culture. When compared to the UK and USA hospitals, the majority of the KSA cases show deficiencies in most of the critical activities that form the foundation of a successful quality process. Furthermore, the study indicates three critical factors in KSA hospitals that either did not exist or were not given full attention. The importance of these factors were further validated in the literature. The factors were continuous top management commitment, continuous education and training, and culture awareness. These factors were then used to develop a model for TQM implementation for a segregated healthcare environment. / King Saud University

In the last decade, the rapid development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has forced its government to implement modern management styles such as Total Quality Management (TQM) to ensure continuous improvement in the provision of healthcare. There is a considerable body of literature that shows the benefits of implementing TQM in hospitals, but there are few empirical studies that show TQM implementation efforts in the healthcare sector. Furthermore, the healthcare literature did not explore the implementation of TQM in a context of gender segregated environment such as the case in KSA. This research project is an exploratory investigation assessing the impact of TQM in a gender segregated healthcare environment such as KSA. The research design used triangulation methods to investigate the problem at hand. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used through field-work and external comparisons. The approach was based on the following: (1) Assessing the level of perception and understanding of TQM principles in several KSA hospitals, taking into account the differences and similarities between the different gender population, (2) Examining the approach to TQM implementation and its degree of effectiveness in four Saudi hospitals to highlight critical factors for effective implementations using the Baldrige assessment method; (3) Benchmarking the Saudi hospital experiences to UK and USA hospitals to highlight key facilitating and inhibiting factors; (4) Using key findings from the previous steps to identify the critical factors and propose a model for TQM implementations in a segregated healthcare environment such as the case in the KSA. The survey research findings show a weak appreciation, awareness and understanding of TQM in managing healthcare organisations by the respondents in the KSA. It clearly shows that many employees in the organisations do riot understand TQM. The degree of emphasis for each quality activity varied and thus more research needs to be done to investigate the importance of each quality activity to a TQM implementation process, as there are varying degrees of emphasis across the board. The KSA case studies show that in implementing organisations, TQM intentions and TQM policy frameworks are generally acceptable. However, the implementation process is generally weak and lacks coordination in the majority of these organisations. It is clear that the majority of the KSA cases have not succeeded in total commitment towards a total quality culture. When compared to the UK and USA hospitals, the majority of the KSA cases show deficiencies in most of the critical activities that form the foundation of a successful quality process. Furthermore, the study indicates three critical factors in KSA hospitals that either did not exist or were not given full attention. The importance of these factors were further validated in the literature. The factors were continuous top management commitment, continuous education and training, and culture awareness. These factors were then used to develop a model for TQM implementation for a segregated healthcare environment.

The main concern of this thesis is the development of political and economic relations between the PRC and the KSA. The relations that officially developed after the establishment of diplomatic relations are the focus of analysis of the thesis. By examining the historical and statistical data, the thesis assesses the factors that have cultivated and maintained the Sino-Saudi political and economic relations, as well as the implications of these bilateral links. In analysing the relations, a theoretical conception of complex interdependence has been used. The thesis first provides background on China’s policy towards the superpowers and the Middle Eastern countries between 1949 and 1989, and looks at how China and Saudi Arabia related to each other over this period. The thesis then argues that over the first decade (1990-2000) of Sino-Saudi diplomatic relations, the two countries began to lay the basis for complex interdependence between them. It highlights a number of characteristics of complex interdependence which came to exist. The thesis then goes on to examine whether, in the second decade (2001-2010) of bilateral relations, an intensification of complex interdependence ensued. The complex interdependence approach links closely with constructivist theory in terms of how this thesis is conceived. The thesis argues that China and Saudi Arabia between 1949 and 1977 shared an understanding that their ideological positions made official links between them impossible. Over the course of the following twelve years, this understanding gradually changed. The change laid the basis for the development of diplomatic relations in 1990. In the years between 1990 and 2010, the policy responses of China and Saudi Arabia to major regional events exhibited a commonality of perception. This underpinned the development of the relationship. To identify clearly the growth of Sino-Saudi relations, the thesis is divided into three time periods: 1949-89; 1990-2000; and 2001-10. The time period 1949-89 has three distinct phases: 1949-65; 1966-77; and 1978-89. The 1949-65 and 1966-97 periods are characterised by the absence of state-to-state relations between the PRC and the KSA. However, unofficial contact between Muslims on mainland China and Saudi officials and leaders was established and largely maintained. State-to-state contact only existed between the KSA and ROC governments, which shared broadly anti-Communist sentiments. During the 1978-89 phase, hope for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the PRC and the KSA was high. Some intergovernmental contact was initiated, direct communications between the leaders of the two countries were enhanced, and a joint endeavour towards the development of diplomatic ties was pursued. The 1988 missile deal smoothly accelerated the process of developing these ties. In the 1990-2000 phase, four decades after the establishment of the PRC, Sino-Saudi diplomatic relations were established. The establishment of these diplomatic relations was daunting for the ROC, which wanted to preserve the diplomatic recognition that the KSA had granted it for the preceding 45 years. The strenuous efforts of the ROC to prevent a dramatic shift of diplomatic recognition to mainland China were in vain. The 1990-2000 phase was marked by significant growth in the newly established Riyadh-Beijing diplomatic relationship. Economic interests were at the heart of the agendas of the leaders and officials of the two countries. They began to enhance co-operation and to sign agreements related to various aspects of their bilateral relations. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Oil Co-operation was concluded in 1999. The value of Sino-Saudi total trade rose by 643 percent between 1990 and 2000 and the volume of Saudi oil exports to China increased by 6,721 percent between 1991 and 2000. After nearly ten years official diplomatic relations were established, President Jiang Zemin viewed the development of bilateral relations as impressive, while Crown Prince Abdullah seemed to suggest that there was now “an intimate relationship” between the two countries, saying that he considered the PRC to be the KSA’s closest friend. The period 2001-10 is also sub-divided into two phases: 2001-05 and 2006-10. This period exhibits the three characteristics of complex interdependence that Keohane and Nye (2000) put forward in their scholarly work: multiple channels, the minimal role of military force, and the absence of a hierarchy of issues. Security issues were largely excluded from Sino-Saudi bilateral relations, while economic interests dominated the agendas of the two countries. In the first phase (2001-05), high-level officials continued to play a leading role in bilateral economic relations. They consistently called for the participation of the private sector in expanding Riyadh-Beijing economic ties. The value of Sino-Saudi total trade continued to climb, reaching USD16.1bn in 2005, and the PRC’s oil imports from the KSA reached 22.2 million tonnes in the same year. Some joint investment projects that involved the participation of Chinese and Saudi companies in the hydrocarbons sector were successful. With regard to the construction industry, Chinese companies won four construction projects from the Saudi Arabian cement industry. The second phase (2006-10) was marked by substantial advancement in Sino-Saudi relations. Following the exchange visits of the state leaders in 2006, bilateral contacts expanded rapidly. The visits led to the formulation of more strategies, with the intention of cementing the relationship, increasing contact and concluding more agreements. The Chinese leaders called for “strategic co-operation”, “a friendly and co-operative strategic partnership”, and “strategic friendly relations”, specifically referring to economic co-operation. This second phase saw Sino-Saudi total trade increase to USD 33bn in 2009, and the volume of PRC oil imports from the KSA reached a peak of 41.8million barrels in the same year. With regard to the hydrocarbons joint ventures, in which investments were jointly made by Saudi ARAMCO and Sinopec, the projects in Quanzhou and Rub’ Al-Khali were good examples of the strong co-operation between PRC and KSA companies. The Quanzhou plant launched operation in 2009, and the gas-exploration project in Rub’Al-Khali engaged in drilling for another three years (its operation began in 2004). The achievement of SINOPEC SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co., Ltd, as part of the Tianjin petrochemical project, is another example of such co-operation. In non-hydrocarbons joint ventures, mutual investment increased exponentially, particularly in the mining sector.

Företags samhällsansvar (Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR) är ett väl debatterat begrepp som uppmärksammats allt mer i bland annat media, men även av företag. Däremot är begreppet konsumenters samhällsansvar inte lika uppmärksammat trots att det finns en interaktion mellan konsumenters- och företags samhällsansvar. Forskare framhåller att det finns bristfälligt med teorier om konsumenters samhällsansvar samt att definitionen är viktig för att fortsätta driva CSR-debatten, vilket gör ämnet relevant att studera. Studien syfte är att med utgångspunkt i samhällsansvarsmodeller på företagsnivå, utveckla en definition och en tentativ samhällsansvarsmodell på konsumentnivå. Slutsatsen baseras på en kvalitativ undersökning utifrån 15 intervjuer samt teorier som behandlar definitioner och modeller om samhällsansvar. De ansvarsområden som identifierats och illustreras i KSA-modellen, konsumentens samhällsansvarsmodell, är det legala ansvaret som är tvingande och de två frivilliga områdena socialt ansvar och miljöansvar. Dessa tre områden består av en etisk grund och ett hållbart tidsperspektiv. Det sociala ansvaret och miljöansvaret består även av två underkategorier, ekonomi som visar förutsättningarna för att ta samhällsansvar och filantropi som visar på hur de två ansvarsområdena kan tas. De ansvarsområden som illustreras i KSA-modellen har framtagits med hjälp av konsumenters faktorer och motiv till att ta samhällsansvar. De faktorer som har identifierats är kunskapsfaktorn, hälsofaktorn, omsorgsfaktorn, tvingande faktorn, ”ta-ställningsfaktorn”, certifieringsfaktorn, självkänslofaktorn, empatifaktorn och inkomstfaktorn. / Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, is a concept that is gaining more attention in the media as well as by companies. However, the consumer social responsibility has not gained the same attention, even though there exists an interaction between the corporate social responsibility and the consumer social responsibility. Researchers emphasize that there is a shortage of theories on consumer social responsibility, and that there is a need for a definition to drive the CSR debate. The purpose of this thesis report is to define such a definition as well as define a tentative social responsibility model on a consumer level, based on models for social responsibility on a corporate level. The conclusion is based on 15 interviews as well as theories, definitions and models of social responsibility. The areas of responsibilities that have been identified and that are illustrated by our CNSR (consumer social responsibility) model are the enforcing legal responsibility and the two voluntary social responsibility and environmental responsibility. These three areas of responsibility consist of an ethical foundation as well as dimension of sustainability. The social and environmental responsibilities further consist of an economical aspect that show the conditions to take responsibility and philanthropic aspect that show how these responsibilities can be taken. The areas of responsibility in the KSA model have been derived from consumer factors and motives for taking a social responsibility. The factors that have been identified are knowledge factor, health factor, care factor, enforcement factor, "take-a-stand"-factor, certification factor, self-esteem factor, empathy factor and income factor.

Die Notwendigkeit zur Nutzung von nicht-individuell entwickelter Software entsteht im Geschäfts- und Arbeitsfeld auf Grund der Entwicklung in diesem Bereich. Unternehmen müssen sich ständig ändernden Anforderungen im Geschäftsumfeld stellen. Mit dem immer stärker werdenden Wettbewerb ist es erforderlich, sich auf eigene Kernkompetenzen zu konzentrieren und zeitliche Kooperation bzw. Beziehungen mit anderen Organisationen einzugehen. Um diesen Beziehungen und Anforderungen gerecht zu werden, müssen Software bzw. Softwarebausteine flexibel und temporär bezogen werden. Um den Nutzern dieser Software eine bestmögliche Unterstützung bei der Auswahl ihrer bedarfsgerechten Komponenten zu geben, sollen Ihnen, anhand von Entscheidungen bereits bestehender Kunden, Vorschläge für Objekte unterbreitet werden. Diese Objekte können je nach System zum Beispiel Konfigurationseigenschaften, Inhaltsmodule oder Layoutdarstellungen sein. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass ähnliche Nutzer auch ähnliche Objekte benötigen. Aus diesem Grund sollen die Nutzer miteinander verglichen werden. Das Problem liegt an dieser Stelle in der Beschreibung eines Nutzers. Dieser kann durch eine Vielzahl von Merkmalen gekennzeichnet werden, welche je nach Objekt eine unterschiedliche Wichtigkeit bei der Entscheidung haben. Aus diesem Grund müssen die einzelnen Merkmale unabhängig von einander betrachtet werden. Bei der Bewertung eines Objektes sollen dann entsprechende Wichtungen für das jeweilige Merkmal integriert werden. Der Vergleich ist erst dadurch möglich, dass der Kontext und damit die Aufgabe des Nutzers bekannt sind. Nur mit diesen Informationen können gezielte Empfehlungen erstellt werden. Es wird ein Verfahren vorgestellt, welches die priorisierte Bewertung einzelner Merkmale einbezieht. Ausgehend von diesem Verfahren wird ein Algorithmus vorgestellt, welcher Nutzer anhand ihrer Merkmale vergleicht und daraus folgend Empfehlungen für Objekte ausgibt. Der Algorithmus soll in ein Recommender-System integriert werden.

Die Notwendigkeit zur Nutzung von nicht-individuell entwickelter Software entsteht im Geschäfts- und Arbeitsfeld auf Grund der Entwicklung in diesem Bereich. Unternehmen müssen sich ständig ändernden Anforderungen im Geschäftsumfeld stellen. Mit dem immer stärker werdenden Wettbewerb ist es erforderlich, sich auf eigene Kernkompetenzen zu konzentrieren und zeitliche Kooperation bzw. Beziehungen mit anderen Organisationen einzugehen. Um diesen Beziehungen und Anforderungen gerecht zu werden, müssen Software bzw. Softwarebausteine flexibel und temporär bezogen werden. Um den Nutzern dieser Software eine bestmögliche Unterstützung bei der Auswahl ihrer bedarfsgerechten Komponenten zu geben, sollen Ihnen, anhand von Entscheidungen bereits bestehender Kunden, Vorschläge für Objekte unterbreitet werden. Diese Objekte können je nach System zum Beispiel Konfigurationseigenschaften, Inhaltsmodule oder Layoutdarstellungen sein. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass ähnliche Nutzer auch ähnliche Objekte benötigen. Aus diesem Grund sollen die Nutzer miteinander verglichen werden. Das Problem liegt an dieser Stelle in der Beschreibung eines Nutzers. Dieser kann durch eine Vielzahl von Merkmalen gekennzeichnet werden, welche je nach Objekt eine unterschiedliche Wichtigkeit bei der Entscheidung haben. Aus diesem Grund müssen die einzelnen Merkmale unabhängig von einander betrachtet werden. Bei der Bewertung eines Objektes sollen dann entsprechende Wichtungen für das jeweilige Merkmal integriert werden. Der Vergleich ist erst dadurch möglich, dass der Kontext und damit die Aufgabe des Nutzers bekannt sind. Nur mit diesen Informationen können gezielte Empfehlungen erstellt werden. Es wird ein Verfahren vorgestellt, welches die priorisierte Bewertung einzelner Merkmale einbezieht. Ausgehend von diesem Verfahren wird ein Algorithmus vorgestellt, welcher Nutzer anhand ihrer Merkmale vergleicht und daraus folgend Empfehlungen für Objekte ausgibt. Der Algorithmus soll in ein Recommender-System integriert werden.

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