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One of the most debated issues is that of corporate governance. The topic has been investigated by scholars from several scientific fields including the legal. Indeed, corporate governance has been examined by a great number of law scholars, with particular regards to the improvement of various aspects. For example, effective corporate governance focuses on protecting and advancing aspects related to shareholders’ rights, the board of directors and corporations’ internal and external audit systems. The main objective of this research is to suggest reformation to the Saudi corporate governance framework in order to achieve satisfactory corporate governance practices. The second purpose of the research is to investigate the current practices involved in Saudi corporate governance arrangements. The final aim is to determine how a Saudi corporate governance framework would most benefit corporate governance from the Islamic perspective. This study intends to provide a regulatory analysis to influence those regulations that should be implemented to adjust corporate governance practices as they affect the Saudi capital market. The researcher found that Saudi corporate governance has been promulgated in accordance with principles of on-going international corporate governance. Alternatively, the Islamic perspective on corporate governance has been debated more recently, as an idea that needs to be progressed in order to provide associated benefits to the corporate governance framework in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Saudi corporate governance provisions can be seen as based largely on positive man-made laws. The researcher further discovered that Saudi corporate governance as an institutional framework is divided between several institutions, whether internal or external, which might result in some ambiguity when it comes to implementing good corporate governance practices. However, the research results revealed that Saudi corporate governance provisions have to be reformed in accordance with popular worldwide corporate governance principles, namely the UK Corporate Governance Code, the UK Companies Act and the OECD principles of corporate governance produced.

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This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of curing and mix design parameters, such as cement content and water to cementitious materials ratio, on the strength and durability characteristics of plain and silica fume cements exposed to a hot-marine environment. Specifically, the effect of curing and mix design parameters on chloride diffusion, shrinkage and carbonation of cement mortar specimens exposed to a hot-marine environment was evaluated. The results indicated that high water to cement ratio significantly influenced the durability performance of concrete through: (1) accelerating chloride diffusion and carbonation, (2) increasing the shrinkage and weight loss, and (3) reducing the compressive strength. Similarly, increasing the cement content increased the shrinkage for a given w/c ratio. However, the chloride diffusion and carbonation were minimized and strength was enhanced due to increasing cement content. The mix design parameters, namely, water-cement ratio and cement content significantly influenced the performance of both Type I and Type V cements, while the influence of these parameters on the performance of silica fume cements was insignificant. Although Type I cement mortars performed better than Type V cement mortars, the performance of silica fume cement was the best in terms of reduced chloride diffusion, carbonation and shrinkage, and enhanced strength. The beneficial effects of silica fume cements, were however, only evident in specimens subjected to good curing. Therefore, to extend the useful service-life of reinforced concrete structures exposed to hot-marine environments, the following mix design is recommended: (i) cement content should not be less than 350kg/m³; (ii) Type I cement with 10% silica fume; (iii) water to cementitious materials ratio of not more than 0.45; (iv) good curing.

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This study investigates the prospects of setting up an open university for women in Saudi Arabia against the background of the problems which Saudi women face in pursuing higher education. A review is given of the development of modern public education for women since its beginning in 1960, with emphasis on the more recent development of higher education for women. The position of women in Islam and in contemporary Saudi society is examined as this has influenced their access to higher education. An account is also given of the development of women's position in contemporary Western society. Three open universities, the United Kingdom Open University, the Sukhathai Thammahirat Open University (Thailand), and the Allama Iqbal Open University (Pakistan) are described in 'order to demonstrate how the idea of an Open University first arose (UKOU) , and how it was later realized in a developing county (Thailand), and in an Islamic country (Pakistan). A questionnaire was devised in order to gather data on attitudes to the setting up of an open university for women in Saudi Arabia, on perceptions of its feasibility, and on possible obstacles to its foundation. The questionnaire also included a section on the most suitable model for an open university for women in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was distributed in government bodies and higher educational establishments in Saudi Arabia to policy makers, academics, and female students. An analysis of the data reveals a very positive response to the setting up of an open university for women in Saudi Arabia. Respondents, however, demonstrated a realistic awareness of the problems of gaining public acceptance for a new type of higher education and of the launching of a new project in a time of restrictions on government spending. Finally, on the basis of the findings from the survey, a proposal is made for the setting up of an open university suitable for women in Saudi Arabia today.

This thesis examines the effect of spatial resolution on lithological and alteration mapping using remotely sensed multispectral data. The remotely sensed data were obtained by the Thematic Mapper (TM) and Airborne Thematic Mapper (ATM) over two areas in the Arabian Shield. These were the Mahd Adh Dhahab and Jabal Said areas. The ATM data had a nominal spatial resolution of 7.5m, 5m, and 2.5m. In order to compare these data sets it was necessary to correct for, sensor- and scene-related distortions. This was achieved by calibrating each data set and converting them to reflectance units using ground spectra with a similar spectral resolution obtained with the Barringer Hand Held Ratioing Radiometer (HHRR) . The ATM data were also corrected for X-track shading by normalising the brightness of each column to that of the centre column. The result of X-ray and laboratory spectral analysis of samples collected from the study areas, support the presence of characteristic minerals associated with the alteration zones. The corrected data were analysed by a variety of techniques in order to enhance the geological information present in the data. These included false colour compositing, decorrelating stretching and band ratioing. The latter two techniques proved most effective for discrimination and several additional geological units and areas were identified which had not been mapped previously. Results further indicate that the increased spatial resolution of the ATM data did not permit greater discrimination than the TM data. This suggests TM data should prove to be a cost-effective way of mapping and detection of alteration zones in the Arabian Shield.