Vol. 38 Issue 4
Ahmed O. El-Kholei and Ghada A. Yassein
New technologies usually replace many of the technologies known to humankind. Today, humanity is experiencing the fourth industrial revolution, i.e., 4IR, where the boundaries between biological, digital, and physical technologies are blurring. The previous industrial revolutions brought opportunities and costs. The paper examines the expected outcomes of 4IR on the city and the means to benefit from 4IR technologies in city planning. The research methodology is mixed, using the symphony metaphor and conducting bibliometric analysis. The researchers interrogated the literature landscape about 4IR to outline the substantial opportunities and potential impacts. They conducted a bibliometric analysis of the contemporary academic discourse linking 4IR to metropolitan areas. Preliminary synthesis shows a growing trend in the total number of documents per year since 2016—the connection between 4IR and the city focus on the smart city. The 4IR technologies could help make smart sustainable cities a reality and avert any harmful outcomes. Planning and architectural education must align their curricula to use these novel technologies by equipping graduates with the competencies to face a changing world and capitalize on opportunities.
Adel Ismail Al-Alawi, Zahra Almohammedsaleh Eman Mohamed Al Saffar and Fatima Wahab
Purpose: This paper aims to understand the factors affecting the consumers’ online purchase intention through different social media platforms widely used in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. Methodology: A structured questionnaire was used to measure the influence of perceived risk, social influence, and the social media Apps design and content quality on individuals’ online purchase intention. Data were collected from 171 respondents and analyzed using SPSS software. Findings: The findings indicate that social influence and the social media Apps design and content quality significantly affect consumers’ online purchase intention. In contrast, the perceived risk does not affect the consumers’ online purchase intention. The results also indicated no difference in perception of perceived risk among the respondents, based on age, gender. There was no difference in perception of perceived risk and the social media Apps design and content quality. However, the difference was found in social influence. Originality: This study focused on online purchase intention factors in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain due to the widespread buying of online websites and apps. There are very few studies about this issue in both countries. Research limitations/implications: The research was conducted only in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to other countries. Future studies can also follow a comparative approach, finding differences in the customer intention between both regions.
Aisha Al Hamdan, Mohammad S. Abido, Ahmed O. El-Kholei and Asma Abahussain
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) controls the wildlife trade. All the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are parties to CITES. GCC countries are the prime destination of exported falcons and Oud. In 2016, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the destinations of approximately 26.8% of the world’s seized specimens of agarwood. These facts justify examining countries’ arrangements for implementing and enforcing the convention. Researchers used the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework for inquiry. Sources of information included site visits, surveys, interviews, and documents. The researchers interviewed 742 interviewees representing different stakeholder groups. Results show that the present legal framework is not wholly conducive to an integrated and holistic measure for complying with the convention. Traditions and culture, lack of trained cadres, complicated procedures, inadequate coordination, lack of economic incentives, and imperfect information are challenges for effective implementations of the convention. The research confirms the importance of institutional setup, legal systems, and socioeconomic context in successfully complying with and enforcing CITES. Coordination between executing agencies, strict law enforcement, and capacity building contribute to the effective implementation of the convention.
Mohammed Abbas, Ali Mahmoud Mohammed Edris, Bahaeldin K..Elamin, Karimeldin Mohamed Ali Salih and Assad Ali Rezigall
Introduction: Blood donation is considered an essential practice that saves millions of lives; however, unsafe transfusion practices also put millions of people at risk of transfusion-transmissible infections. This study is aimed to describe the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus among blood donors in King Abdulla hospital (Bisha, KSA) in the duration from March 2013 to April 2019.
Methods: The study design is a retrospective cross-sectional hospital-based. The study investigates the percentages of the hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus among blood donors. The included samples were 16218. All samples were tested in the central blood bank by ELISA methods. Data were analyzed by SPSS 23 (2015).
Result: All the blood donors were males. The age of donors ranged from 18 to 55 and most of them were in the age group 20-30 years (37.3). The prevalence of HBC, HCV and HIV were 0.5%, 0.3% and 0.1% respectively. Percentages reported in Bisha were the lowest across Saudi Arabia.