The main purpose of this research project was to bridge the existing knowledge gap inthe empirical identification and understanding of how conflict occurs between keyproject parties within Saudi Arabia’s public sector building projects. Such conflict hasbecome an increasingly endemic feature within the last 20 years, and this researchproject provides a contribution in knowledge terms which will help to overcome theobstacles and challenges impeding growth and development in the field. This wasachieved by conducting an investigation to provide the theoretical background aboutthe antecedents of conflict, and presenting a number of project management suggestions to avoid or minimise.Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were utilised in this study. Thequalitative research data was obtained from 30 in-depth semi-structured interviewswith four types of key project party, namely, project owners, consultants, contractors,and sub-contractors. This was followed by two separate questionnaire surveys. The firstwas a means of validating conflict data obtained from the interviews, and the secondwas used to test Project Management - PM data, . In this part of the study, 672questionnaires were sent to various people engaged in the Saudi Arabian constructionindustry. The response rate was 46.1% (n = 310 ).In terms of the interview data, a total of 349 data items were derived and from these data items, 30 general themes emerged concerning various causes of conflict and the latent conditions of conflict, providing descriptions of what and how conflicts arise within Saudi Arabian public building projects. From these general themes, 31 recommendations for strategic project management processes are made, with the intention of preventing or at least minimising conflict. The quantitative survey conducted to test these project management strategies (recommendations) revealed that all of them were supported. The study subsequently produced a cyclical framework of conflict avoidance, derived from the research methodology used in the study, and this is outlined to enable project building participants, whether individuals, groups, or organisations, to improve their project management strategy from project to project.The research recommends that: generally, certain project management strategiesshould be implemented in the earlier phases of a project in order to promote conflictavoidance behaviours or at least to effect a reduction in these. Furthermore, strategicactions are required to deal with the latent condition-related issues in respect of building projects in the Saudi Arabian context. In this case, reforms to current practices are required to improve the performance within the building industry. It is also recommended that further research be undertaken to explore other latent conditions of conflict and conflicts themselves in order to develop additional project management strategies aimed at managing the causes of conflict.

The purpose of the study was to develop a substantive theory that would provide insight into the role of the Internet in expatriate adjustment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Expatriate adjustment research has identified a number of challenges that expatriates experience when adjusting to the host country. These include spousal influence, cultural training/ understanding, fluency in the host language and the personality or emotional readiness of the expatriate. These challenges are amplified when considered in the context of the KSA, which has a large cultural distance when compared to the average Western culture and therefore, provides a setting for an interesting study. There are a limited number of studies available that consider the role of the Internet during the expatriate episode in general, but none that examine the role of the Internet on expatriate adjustment specifically. Furthermore, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, there is no research that provides a grounded theoretical understanding of the Internet in expatriate adjustment. The research project used a Grounded Theory based approach to develop a substantive theory on the role that the Internet plays in expatriate adjustment in the KSA. The conceptual account emerged from interviewing expatriates living in Western compounds in Riyadh, the capital of the KSA. The core concern that emerged from this study is one that describes the mediating effect of the Internet. This study hypothesised that the Internet had a regulating effect on expatriates’ degree of isolation and degree of information flow which would affect both their process of adjustment and their state of adjustment. Both the expatriates’ process and state of adjustment is expressed in terms of their well-being. The theory building study presents a theoretical model, grounded in rich empirical data. The theoretical model consists of two substantive categories: degree of isolation and degree of information flow. The former explains what contributes to the feeling of isolation experienced by expatriates. It was shown that the degree of isolation is a multifaceted concept influenced by expatriates’ living space, status, social support, mobility in the KSA and state of mind. The latter substantive category, the degree of information flow, explains the extent to which information can be exchanged between expatriates and other entities, be it family, friends or the outside world in general, including communication with other expatriates in the KSA. These two substantive categories were explained through the core category which was conceptualised by using the following metaphor: “the Internet a lifeline to the real world”. Considering the lifeline properties of the Internet, the theoretical model explained how it positively effects expatriate adjustment in the KSA. It was shown that the Internet, as a mediator, had an effect when considering adjustment as a process, as a state, and as an expression of expatriate well-being. This research was guided by two key research objectives: (a) to add theoretical content to the understanding of the role that the Internet plays in expatriate adjustment, and (b) to contribute to the IS body of knowledge by producing a theory that could be applied in practice. To the researcher’s best knowledge, this study is the first in IS literature to describe the significant role and the contextual issues that surround expatriate use of the Internet in the KSA. In doing so, the study developed an understanding, grounded in rich empirical data from the substantive field of expatriates. This new understanding contributes to both IS research and practice, and provides guidance for future research. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / tm2015 / Informatics / PhD / Unrestricted

The rapid pace with which internet technology has entered our daily lives provides an opportunity for English language teachers to incorporate some such platforms in their teaching. This study investigates the attitudes of Saudi Arabian learners towards online communication in EFL. It takes place in a university preparatory program at Taibah University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Questionnaires and interviews were used to gather data pertaining to the attitudes’ of Saudi Arabian learners to online communication in EFL. In order to achieve its aims, this study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to inform EFL practitioners of learners’ attitudes towards English, online communication in general and online communication for EFL purposes. / Educational Studies / M.A. (TESOL)

Worldwide, coral reefs are recognized as highly valuable ecosystems offering numerous environmental and economic services. In Saudi Arabia, the primary ecosystem service derived from coral reefs is the support of reef-based fisheries, accounting for ~75% of total fisheries landing in the kingdom. Saudi Arabian reefs experienced high fishing pressure for decades due to the growing population and associated fishing pressure. Despite the importance of the provisioning service there are limited ecosystem services valuations for this region. In the wake of a 2015 mass bleaching event, we quantified the effect of habitat degradation on the potential fisheries revenue in the central southern Red Sea. We conducted in situ reef fish surveys in 2014 and 2015 before the bleaching event and in 2019, nearly four years after the bleaching event. Using species-specific prices collected from local fish markets, we calculated values per hectare from multiple reefs in this region, to assess how the reef-based fishery was impacted by the bleaching event. A loss in live hard and soft coral cover was recorded after the bleaching event with associated shifts in the dominance of commercially important fish species. Notably, prior to bleaching, a larger proportion of the high value carnivorous species (70% carnivores, 25% herbivores) dominated the fish assemblage whereas post-bleaching reefs had a higher dominance of lower-valued herbivorous species (25% carnivores, 50% herbivores). While the total revenue was not significantly different before (7,913 USD/hectare) to after the bleaching event (6,814 USD/hectare), the loss of high value species observed suggests that if reefs continue to degrade there are potential negative flow-on effects impacting fisheries provisioning with time. Overall, an increasing percentage of live hard coral cover was positively correlated with fisheries revenue per reef, further providing evidence for the potential loss of revenue in degraded reef ecosystems in the region.

The main topic of the thesis Breaking Free from the Dominance and Establishing Independent Policy: The Analysis of Saudi-Qatari Relations and its Implications on the Region of the Persian Gulf is a thorough analysis of the historical developments of bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar. This hierarchical relationship between the two states is analysed according to the theories of alliance formation, MENA foreign policy analyses and international hierarchy. The aim of the thesis is to ascertain how Qatar was able to break free from the subordinate position within the hierarchical relationship with Saudi Arabia. Contrary to other existing research within the field which explains the end of subordination mostly with the crisis in the dominant state, the present thesis addresses other possible factors in the subordinate state that ultimately cause the evasion of the subordination with particular emphasis on the case study in question. The thesis proposes a classification of several distinct eras in Saudi - Qatari relations and verifies them against the theories described above. The thesis' findings support the hypothesis that subordinate states can evade the subordination without a crisis in the dominant, but only in a very specific set of circumstances, which...

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This study is concerned with what is happening within a mentorship interaction between engineers aimed at knowledge transfer. The practice of knowledge transfer is contextualised within the knowledge economy that ideologically positions Western economies as knowledge holders and advanced, while positioning developing countries as knowledge deficient and backwards. The prevailing literature regards knowledge transfer as difficult to achieve and is primarily focused on factors that hinder its success, looking to causal relational factors between and within the participants, in particular the qualities of knowledge receivers. Constructing the relationship and the individuals engaged in knowledge transfer as problematic brings about certain types of relations between individuals and between groups. These bring into play the positioning of role players within knowledge transfer that is not neutral, creating asymmetrical power relations and impacting identity construction. Studies in knowledge transfer have examined the factors that inhibit successful knowledge transfer extensively and do not consider its discursive context or considerations of power relations. Based on the assumption that discourse produces social practices and individual identities within social, historical and cultural contexts, this study adopted a social constructionist perspective and suggests that the ways in which identities are constructed in a mentorship interaction affect how participants experience and make sense of their worlds, which has implications for the practice of knowledge transfer. Viewing power as embedded in relations, a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis was conducted of discursive constructions generated from 17 interviews of participants engaged in a multinational knowledge transfer project between South African and Saudi Arabian engineers. The analysis showed that the construction of self and other does have an impact on knowledge transfer between Saudi Arabian and South African engineers. The multiple identity constructions of the participants within the knowledge transfer relationship were resourced from dominant discourses that reveal different meanings attributed to the participants’ mentorship experience and showed the systematic setting up of self and other within unequal power relations that favour the self. The study suggests that deeper consideration should be given to the effects of othering and power within social interactions between individuals located in divergent contexts such as those that characterise knowledge transfer. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Consulting Psychology)

De nos jours, dans le monde arabe et plus particulièrement en Arabie saoudite, la prise en charge de l’autisme constitue un sujet pour lequel l’intérêt va croissant, suscitant de nombreux débats chez les spécialistes qui se soucient de proposer des méthodes thérapeutiques appropriées. Dans ce contexte, nos objectifs de recherche ont été définis à l’occasion d’une expérience clinique menée auprès d’enfants autistes saoudiens. En effet, nous nous sommes interrogés sur l’intérêt d’une prise en charge psychanalytique de ces enfants autistes, issus et vivant dans la société saoudienne. Partant de là, deux voies de réflexion se sont imposées prenant naissance dans un fil conducteur commun, à savoir : la tentative de croisement de l’anthropologie et du domaine de l’autisme tel qu’envisagé par la psychanalyse. Pour ce faire, nous avons cerné les évolutions profondes ayant marqué jusqu’à nos jours, la compréhension mais aussi la prise en charge de l’autisme. Précisons que pour porter un regard de nature anthropologique sur le trouble de l’autisme en Arabie saoudite, nous avons dû établir un rapprochement analogique entre l’autisme culturel et l’autisme pathologique, en prenant en considération les caractéristiques socio-culturelles de la société saoudienne. En effet, un tel angle d’approche a été rendu nécessaire du fait que dans la société saoudienne, les pratiques thérapeutiques liées à l’autisme oscillent toujours entre remèdes traditionnels et méthodes psychothérapeutiques, lesquelles se bornent encore à la démarche comportementaliste. Au-delà, nous sommes partis de l’hypothèse selon laquelle la prise en charge de l’autisme fondée sur l’approche psychanalytique multidimensionnelle pouvait s’avérer bénéfique pour les enfants autistes saoudiens. De là, pour valider cette hypothèse, une étude empirique a été menée ayant mobilisé différents outils à la fois conceptuels et cliniques, dont notamment une étude de cas. / Today, in the Arab world and particularly in Saudi Arabia, there is widespread interest in the treatment for autism and consequently this subject engenders numerous debates involving specialists wishing to offer appropriate therapeutic treatment methods. Within this context, our research objectives were developed during a clinical experience carried out with autistic Saudi children. And we duly questioned the interest of a psychoanalytic monitoring of these autistic children, born and living in the Saudi society. Starting from this, two paths of reflection were imposed, both having a common thread. An attempt to connect anthropology and the field of autism by applying a psychoanalytic approach. To do this, we firstly identified the profound changes which have been brought about up to the present day and have marked not only our understanding but also the monitoring of autism. In order to be able to obtain an anthropological view of the Autistic spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia, we made an analogical rapprochement between cultural autism and pathological autism bearing in mind the socio-cultural characteristics of Saudi society. Indeed, such an approach was necessary because in Saudi society, the therapeutic practices linked to autism forever oscillate between traditional remedies and psychotherapeutic methods, which are still limited to the behaviourist approach. Consequently, we began with the hypothesis that autism monitoring based on the multidimensional psychoanalytic approach could prove beneficial to autistic children in Saudi Arabia. And so, to confirm this theory an empirical study was carried out involving various conceptual and clinical tools, including a case study.

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.

This thesis is focusing on counterterrorism policies that are used in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Because of the limited research on the counterterrorism in non-Western world, this thesis decided to contribute to this research and widen literature on this issue. It first introduces the term terrorism and analyses the counterterrorism models (criminal, war and disease models), which can be found mostly in Western literature. It includes critique of these models and attempt to create an alternative one, because it finds the current models unsuitable even for the Western counterterrorism policies. Besides that there is also introduction to other counterterrorism strategies such as terrorist financing and a subsection on deradicalization that is important part of counterterrorism as well. Then the thesis focuses on two parallel case studies of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. It examines counterterrorism policies of both of them. The thesis first introduces the countries character, threats they are facing and attacks they have experienced and then analyses what measures are used to fight terrorism. After analysing all aspects of their counterterrorism efforts - legislature, cooperation, deradicalization, military methods etc., the alternative model is applied on each case to see if it is suitable for...