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In the variation of English for Occupational Purposes, ESP is usually considered to be culture-free. This thesis investigates, as an example, a vocational ESP program in Saudi Arabia to establish, first, what cultural values might be present in the course materials, and second, how the ESP programme relates to the school system in which workers have been educated. The study proposes that there is a cultural content even in what appears to be a culture-free ESP program, and that this cultural content is expected to provide the non-native target population learners with values and thinking abilities that are different from those that are in the receiving environment. The study shows how an ESP program can have a Western cultural perspective that provides Western values and thinking abilities and general / basic education. The thesis consists of six chapters and a general introduction. The Introduction discusses the significance of ESP, the general view that it is 'culture-free', and the importance of analysing an example ESP program to see if this is the case. Chapter One presents an account of ESP, its definition, nature, development, and key issues in the field of its syllabus design and significance in its various fields, with focus on the significance of ESP having a common core component. Chapter Two presents an account of the literature on the concepts of socialisation and culture, its definition, nature, relation with language, learning, and significance in foreign language teaching (FLT), English language teaching (ELT), and specifically in ESP. Chapter Three introduces Saudi Arabia, with a brief account of its socio- cultural aspects, religion, educational system, and the significance of English language teaching in it. It also has a section about the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) which represents the environment of Western cultural learning in the ESP program, namely Vocational English Language Training (VELT).

This research seeks to create new woven artefacts by integrating elements of traditional weaving from western Saudi Arabia and different kinds of materials for the warp, thus offering a new dimension to the field of hand weaving in Saudi society, and contributing to its development. For the researcher’s MA study, she was interested in western modern weaving and textiles in terms of its new weave techniques, methods, forms, design and function. But, with the commencement of her PhD study, she thought more about Saudi traditional weaving as a key reference. Her interest developed when she worked as a weaver and teacher of the art. Through work experience, the researcher has observed that the field of hand weaving in Saudi Arabia, particularly the traditional Bedouin approach, is rich in aesthetic values and techniques, but is not widespread. Some effort is required to find ways to develop this kind of weaving and to introduce the new forms, appearance and techniques to Saudi Arabian society. At the same time, this might be considered an invitation to Saudi weavers to join the researcher in reclaiming our past to suit the needs of the present time.

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Saudi Arabia is affected by the dominant culture of the Arabic Islamic nations, and Islam exerts a strong influence on all. aspects of Saudi society, including women's participation in the kingdom's labor force. Chapter I of this thesis deals with Arabian women in general, and Chapter II surveys the past and present roles of Saudi women. Chapter III enumerates obstacles hindering women's full participation in the Saudi labor force; Chapter IV presents information on the people of Saudi Arabia, concentrating upon its large population of foreign workers; and Chapter V surveys the women currently employed in the kingdom's public, private, and agricultural sectors. Chapter VI suggests means for increasing the employment of women, in accordance with Islamic tenets and mores.

The purpose of this study was to determine (1) the size of the Saudi Arabian manpower shortage in light of the Second Development Plan, (2) the number of skilled and semi-skilled workers that will be graduated from vocational and technical programs during the plan period, and (3) the factors that explain the major causes of the labor shortage problem. In order to accomplish these objectives, the study has considered two questions: (1) Is there a consistency between the manpower needs of skilled and semi-skilled workers and the vocational and technical training programs' output? (2) What are the major factors that explain the labor shortage in Saudi Arabia?

This study is an investigation of the perceived attitudinal differences between administrators and faculty toward research and teaching at three Saudi Arabian universities, King Saud University (KSU), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), and the Islamic University (IU). The researcher also investigated the effect of several variables, such as rank, university, and academic field on administrators and faculty members' attitudes toward teaching and research. Little Attention has been given to studies that examine the differences between faculty and administrators with regard to their attitudes toward the priorities of teaching and research in Saudi Arabian institutions. Also, little research has been conducted regarding the effects of rank and academic field on faculty attitudes in Saudi Arabian institutions. The author used a mail survey and collected 518 useable responses from a total of 710 questionnaires distributed. Factor analysis, MANCOVA, MANOVA, and ANOVA were the statistical methods employed in data analysis. Five attitudes were identified as a result of factor analysis: (a) attitudes toward teaching; (b) attitudes toward research; (c) mission; (d) promotion; and (e) interest. Results indicated that there was a significant difference between faculty and administrators regarding teaching and resea4rch. Administrators showed stronger attitudes toward teaching than faculty at all three universities. There were also significant differences regarding these attitudes in terms of rank, academic field, and university. Full professors had the strongest attitude toward a research emphasis compared to assistant professors. Assistant professors had the strongest teaching orientation. In addition, faculty members in the humanities had stronger teaching orientations preferences than did those in the natural and social sciences. Regarding the universities, faculty members at IU had the strongest teaching orientation preferences, whereas faculty members at KSU had the strongest research orientation preferences.

The study is undertaken for a more compressive understanding for organizational theory and its applicability to tendency towards improvisation during emergency times among individuals in Non Profit Organizations (NPOs) in Saudi Arabia. The analysis involved an examination of direct effect of learning on tendency towards improvisation and possible mediating effects between organizational learning and tendency towards improvisation among individuals in NPOs, while controlling for key demographic differences (e.g. individuals’ age, education level and years in service, number of full-time staff and volunteers). Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to full-time employees in 13 NPOs in three cities in the western area of Saudi Arabia, namely Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah (N= 304). The main statistical method employed to hypotheses examination was Structural Equation Modeling. The hypothesis examination resulted in three out of five hypnotized paths are to be significant. Two direct relations were interpreted as outcomes of organizational learning, with increases in the level of organizational learning is being positively related to individuals’ self –efficacy and agility. The third significant path interpreted as individuals’ agility is positively related to their tendency to improvise during emergency times, which indicates organizational learning has indirect effect on tendency towards improvisation. Finally, the applicability of organizational learning theory to the field of emergency management and suggestions for future research in light of the findings of this research are also discussed.

When developing and aiming to achieve success in the area of mobile commerce, user acceptance and usage are key aspects for consideration. The key aim of this thesis is to explore a way to understand and explain the issues related to users’ adoption of m-commerce, by revision of Ventakesh et al.’s (2003) United Theory of Acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) for the Saudi context. This thesis examines a conceptual model in three studies. The first study aims to empirically validate the research model and hypotheses, by conducting a quantitative questionnaire survey of 574 participants. The results emphasise that cost, effort expectancy and performance expectancy all affect the intention to use m-commerce. In addition, it was found that age has an impact on usage. Subsequently, the author narrows down to confirm the finding and applies the same revised model to an m-commerce application, a mobile network service. The study collected data from 363 participants, and confirmed the findings. Based on the first and second study results, the first model was revised to remove insignificant factors, and a personal innovativeness construct was added. The incorporation of this aspect was dependent on the findings from the other studies. The new revised model was examined on one social network service, namely Twitter, with 1,252 participants being surveyed. The final result was that all the hypotheses were supported, emphasising that Personal innovation, Cost, Performance expectancy and Effort expectancy all considerably affect the intention to use Mobile Social Network Services (MSNS’s). In this regard, usage intention actually decides utilisation. The outcomes from this research are considered valuable in the fields of m-commerce and telecommunications. This research has created a conceptual model for studying m-commerce in Saudi Arabia. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings have been discussed and offer recommendations for future research directions.