The editor's Thesis--Heidelberg. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 3-37 (1st set)).

Health care systems in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere play a significant role in the lives of individuals as well as society at large. Although healthcare aims at enhancing the quality of life it can sometimes happen that treatment itself can lead to a diminution of the quality of life due to unexpected adverse effects. These problems may cause therapeutic failures or even drug-related morbidity and mortality. Consequently there is a need to have in place a system, conventionally known as Pharmacovigilance. The aims of Pharmacovigilance are to identify, quantify and continuously monitor all drug use through a system which would enable all health care professionals such as physicians, pharmacists, dentists and nurses to contribute. This thesis investigated the present knowledge of and use of, the Pharmacovigilance system in Makkah, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A mixed method yielded data that provided depth and breadth to the findings of this study. A questionnaire was designed for 170 community pharmacists and 310 respondents drawn from different medical roles across the seven hospitals in Makkah yielded some useful results. Resistance to change was identified in some groups but it was of interest to discover that 72% of respondents who admitted that their knowledge was insufficient were, nevertheless, agreed about its importance. Key issues from the analysis of the questionnaire were used to design the second phase of the sequential mixed method which involved semi structured interviews with seven senior pharmacists, one from each of the seven hospitals. Analysis yielded three overarching categories: Technology, Internalisation and Motivation. A follow up feedback survey at the end of a lecture, of a group of pharmacy students enhanced the overall findings of the study and revealed a very high degree of interest and acceptance of Pharmacovigilance reporting systems and an expressed desire for its inclusion as a subject in its own right in their training programme. Conflicting epistemological positions inherent in a mixed method are candidly admitted and no attempt is made to circumvent this difficulty. Rather, the enhanced nature of the findings is highlighted despite the opposing knowledge claims of both approaches. A key finding was that 59% of the respondents were unaware of the Saudi National Pharmacovigilance centre (NPC) and reporting arrangements. The problems of lack of internet access and of suitable reporting forms were important contributory reasons for the under-usage of the system. There is a need to raise awareness of all pharmacists of the importance of the knowledge and practice of Pharmacovigilance. Technological solutions should be implemented to facilitate reporting at all levels. Continuing professional development should include Pharmacovigilance. Resistance to change can be addressed by identifying the motivational factors that can lead to a more wholehearted acceptance of the importance of Pharmacovigilance for patient care and well-being. Indeed, these could well be the focus of future studies.

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The purpose of this study was to survey and analyse the condition of the present system of academic libraries, defined in this study as the seven university libraries, in Saudi Arabia; determine the perceptions of academic libraries in Saudi Arabia toward cooperation and design a model interlibrary loan network (ILLN) for the academic libraries of Saudi Arabia.............A document review, questionnaire survey and structured interview were used for data collection......Major findings are that six out of seven libraries do not meet the ACRL standards in respect of collections....all seven inducated that they cooperated with all other academic libraries but did not borrow / lend materials or only occasionally. ............This study proposed that an ILLN that will both be a distributed and centralized network in which academic libraries will coordinate and communicate directly with each other......

The Qatifi dialect of Arabic is spoken by a minority group located principally in Qatif, near Dhahran, in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Codeswitching in the Qatifi community describes the alternation, within discourse, between two local codes, such as switching from the Qatifi Arabic to either the Qatifi secret G, S, and T languages or to Classical and Modern Arabic, on the one hand. On the other hand, it describes the alternation between local and foreign codes, such as switching from the Qatifi Arabic to English, Farsi, and Broken Arabic pidgin.The Qatifi speakers frequently use the G, S, and T secret languages, which represent phonological variations in Qatifi Arabic according to particular rules. These secret languages are used by the Qatifi people to establish political solidarity, to secure social norms, or to insure discretion.Codeswitching from the Qatifi dialect to other local or foreign codes also affirms the social identity and personal pride of individuals taking part in informal conversation. It is important therefore to understand the social constraints of the society where it is found, and how it works within the linguistic rules of the source language and the mainstream communicative system. Codeswitching as spoken by the Qatifi middle class community identifies particular member of this minority group.The aim of this thesis is to explain codeswitching occurring between theQatifi dialect of Arabic and other language varieties. Using data drawn mainly from personal interviews with Qatifi natives, I investigate the type of code used in variable conversational settings and the interaction among the Qatifi trusted or non-suspicious members. / Department of English

This study examines the reasons for the Saudi media mdustry's dependence on imported foreign productions. In a departure from traditional dependency theory, which emphasises the role of external factors in the context of the world system, this study explains the state of dependency and underdevelopment in a more locally grounded analysis which evaluates the role of Saudi media policies and regulatory functions in perpetuatmg this dependency status. Two methodologies were applied, firstly, content analyses of a two-week period of Saudi television programming on Channel 1 were earned out to examine the quantity and quality of both local and imported television fare in terms of genre and format, Secondly, mterviews were conducted with Saudi media officials, media pohcy makers, and mdependent local producers to ascertain, from their perspective, what exactly constrains the Saudi media industry and limits its potential, and why the Saudi media is dependent on imported television fare. The results of the content analyses and interviews showed that political, professional and economic constraints handicap STV's performance. This has led to output which is considered to be irrelevant to the needs and mterests of the Saudi viewing population. It has also led to an increase in imported foreign programming and DBS populanty, thus creating a cause of concern among culturalists and Islamists who object to content which, they argue, conflicts with the basic principles of the Islamic faith. Recommendations are proposed to Saudi media policy makers in order to counteract the foreign competition and enhance mdigenous, self-reliant development.