• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권14호
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• pp.5847-5852
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• 2015

Background: Smoking behavior is related to numerous factors, including psychosocial parameters. This study investigated the association between family context factors and smoking among male adolescents. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, school-based study was conducted during 2014. The study sampled 900 students from intermediate and secondary schools in Madinah City, Saudi Arabia. Data concerning smoking status, sociodemographic, parental and friends' smoking behavior, and family factors were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. These data were employed to estimate the prevalence of smoking using appropriate statistical analyses including multivariate logistic regression. Results: Of 900 students, 870 completed the study questionnaire (96.7%). Of the respondents, 181 students (20.8%, 95% CI=18.1%-23.5%) were current smokers, and a much higher prevalence was observed among adolescents with most or all of their friends smoking (48.1%) and those living with neither parent (47.4%). The adjusted risk of smoking increased significantly among adolescents who lived with neither parent (OR=3.3; 95% CI=1.1-9.2) and among those who reported little or no parental supervision (OR=1.5; 95% CI=1.0-2.1). Conclusions: Family context factors are associated with an increased risk of smoking behavior among male adolescents in Saudi Arabia.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권5호
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• pp.3177-3181
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• 2013

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the main causes of cervical cancer in women worldwide. The goal of the present study was to determine the prevalence and distribution of HPV genotypes in women from Saudi Arabia. Recently, several HPV detection methods have been developed, each with different sensitivities and specificities. Methods: In this study, total forty cervical samples were subjected to polymerase chain reaction and hybridization to BioFilmChip microarray assessment. Results: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections were found in 43% of the specimens. The most prevalent genotypes were HPV 16 (30%) HPV 18 (8.0%) followed by type HPV 45, occurring at 5.0%. Conclusion: Our finding showed the HPV infection and prevalence is increasing at alarming rate in women of Saudi Arabia. There was no low risk infection detected in the tested samples. The BioFilmChip microarray detection system is highly accurate and suitable for detection of single and multiple infections, allowing rapid detection with less time-consumption and easier performance as compared with other methods.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제7권9호
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• pp.687-695
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• 2020

The study attempts to assess the level of environmental sustainability awareness in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In the process, the study tries to assess the impact of extracurricular activities in increasing awareness of environmental sustainability. A survey questionnaire was administered to the students of Prince Sattam University and other universities of Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire comprises statements on simple environmental conservation activities, which we come across on a daily basis. Hypothesis testing is used to identify significant differences across different categories of respondents. Further, the method of binary logistic regression is used to analyze the data. Though all the respondents agree that conserving the environment is important still there are significant differences across categories when it comes to believing in and practicing environmentally-responsible behavior. The results show that environmental awareness can be increased using awareness activities on sustainability issues in a University setting. The study concludes that increasing the number of extracurricular activities on environmental topics as only 38% of the respondents reported any activity related to the environment in the past year. The findings of this study suggest that increased awareness of environmental issues can boost the sustainability awareness, which will ultimately lead to a sustainable environment.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제52권3호
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• pp.257-261
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• 2014

Toxoplasma 3 main clonal lineages are designated as type I, II, and III; however, atypical and mixed genotypes were also reported. This study was conducted for detection of Toxoplasma gondii genotypes in rats (Rattus rattus) in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. PCR test on T. gondii B1 gene was conducted on ELISA IgM positive samples for confirmation of the infection. However, genetic analysis of the SAG2 locus was performed to determine T. gondii genotypes using PCR-RFLP technique. PCR test on T. gondii B1gene showed that 22 (81.5%) out of the 27 ELISA IgM positive samples have T. gondii DNA. Genotypic analysis shows that, of the total 22 PCR positive samples, only 13 (59.1%) were of type II, 7 (31.8%) were of type III, and 2 (9.1%) were of an unknown genotype. It is obvious that the prevalence of both type II and III is high in rats. No reports have been available on T. gondii genotypes among rats in Riyadh region, and only little is known about its seroprevalence in rats. Future studies on T. gondii genotypes in rats using multi-locus markers is needed in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia for better understanding of T. gondii pathogenesis and treatment in humans and animals.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제7권11호
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• pp.291-301
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• 2020

This paper aims to investigate the impact of chief executive officer's (CEO) attributes on firms' performance. Specifically, it examines the influence of CEOs' education, professional experience, and tenure on Saudi firms' performance. We look at a sample of 120 listed firms on Tadawul stock exchange from 2014 to 2017. Data on financial and accounting variables are obtained from the annual reports of the selected companies. We follow the existing empirical literature and use a panel model and formulate three different equations using the GMM estimator. Findings prove that CEO educational background does matter. In particular, companies employing CEOs with business administration, economics, finance, or accounting degree will perform outstandingly better. Similarly, stock performance gets improved when the CEO has a postgraduate qualification, i.e., when the CEO holds an MBA, a master, or a PhD degree. Besides, results reveal that executives who have an experience in a related field will positively affect the firm's performance. Finally, evidence shows that high CEOs tenure improves corporate performance. Overall, these findings demonstrate that executives' attributes are key factors that would explain differences in Saudi firms' performance. These results would help shareholders to make the right decision in selecting CEOs to manage the company.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.9-13
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• 2019

The paper aims to investigate the performance of domestic Saudi Arabian ETFs. ETFs are investment vehicles in vogue. These instruments were the first levers for investors allowing them to enter some markets that have been highly protected or out of reach. Saudi Arabia, which has been promoted as an emerging country by MSCI, seeks to attract more foreign investors. The first ETFs were launched in the years 2010-2011. Even though their number has not increased since then, there is a desire to attract a large number of investors. We use premiums/discounts analysis, standard risk-return models, and tracking errors measurements to assess how closely their replicate the underlying benchmark based on monthly data. The results indicate that out of the three funds investigated two are slightly traded at premium, while the latter exhibit a price discount. However, tracking errors are at minimum for all funds suggesting that they track well the benchmark index. Further, the Jensen's model shows that alphas are negative or null, and betas capture largely the systematic risk which is consistent with index investing strategies. Finally, traditional risk-adjusted measures of performance are used to compare ETFs, and results exhibit negative ratios showing that portfolios achieve lower return than the risk-free rate.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.119-126
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• 2019

This paper reports an experimental investigation conducted to evaluate the durability performance of concrete mixtures prepared utilizing blends of Type I Portland cement (OPC) and natural pozzolans (NPs) obtained from three different sources in Saudi Arabia. The control concrete mixture containing OPC alone as the binder and three concrete mixtures incorporating NPs were prepared keeping water/binder ratio of 0.4 (by weight), binder content of $370kg/m^3$, and fine/total aggregate ratio of 0.38 (by weight) invariant. The compressive strength and durability properties that included depth of water penetration, depth of carbonation, chloride diffusion coefficient, and resistance to reinforcement corrosion and sulfate attack were determined. Results of this study indicate that at all ages, the compressive strength of NP-admixed concrete mixtures was slightly less than that of the concrete containing OPC alone. However, the concrete mixtures containing NP exhibited lower depth of water penetration and chloride diffusion coefficient and more resistance to reinforcement corrosion and sulfate attack as compared to OPC. NP-admixed concrete showed relatively more depth of carbonation than OPC when subjected to accelerated carbonation. The results of this investigation indicates the viability of utilizing of Saudi natural pozzolans for improving the durability characteristics of concrete subjected to chloride and sulfate exposures.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제8권12호
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• pp.223-231
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• 2021

The study aimed to investigate the impact of social networks safety (SNS) on the marketing information quality (MIQ) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. The study examines the statistical differences in social networks safety SNS and marketing information quality MIQ according to the demographics such as age, sex, income, and education. For this study purpose, information security and privacy are two components of social networks safety. The research materials are website resources, regular books, journals, and articles. The population includes all Saudi users of social networks. The figures show that active users of the social network reached 25 Million in 2020. The snowball method was used and sample size is 500 respondents and the questionnaire is the tool for the data collection. The Structural Equation Modelling SEM technique is used. Convergent Validity, Discriminate Validity, and Multicollinearity are the main assumptions of structural equation modeling SEM. The findings show the high positive impact of SNS networks safety on MIQ and the statistical differences in such variables refer to education. Finally, the study presents a set of future suggestions to enhance the safety of social networks in Saudi Arabia.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제8권11호
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• pp.203-212
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• 2021

Theoretically, economic growth necessitates financial liberalization. Thus, the current research examines the effect of financial liberalization on economic growth in emerging nations, with a particular focus on Egypt and Saudi Arabia. To determine this effect, the study employs a model that uses Gross Domestic Product growth as the dependent variable and the following macroeconomic variables as financial liberalization indices: Broad money as a percentage of GDP, Domestic bank credit to the private sector as a percentage of GDP, Monetary sector credit to the private sector as a percentage of GDP, Net inflows of foreign direct investment as a percentage of GDP. All data is annual data of Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the period 1970-2018 obtained from the World Bank open data website. The empirical investigation employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach. The findings indicate that, after more than three decades of implementation, both countries' financial and external liberalization policies do not have a favorable effect on their economies' growth rates. Additionally, this study has led us to conclude that any financial liberalization policy in both countries must be preceded by the strengthening of these countries' financial development and institutional frameworks, as well as the achievement of macroeconomic stability.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제8권12호
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• pp.1-7
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• 2021

The study examines the influence of COVID-19 on the stock market returns of Saudi Arabia. The data was analyzed through event study methodology using daily price data of Tadawul All Share Index (TASI). The study examines the behavior pattern of the Saudi Arabian stock market in different phases during the event period by selecting six-event windows with a range of 10 days. The results report a negative Abnormal Return (AR) of -0.003 on the event date, while the abnormal returns reversed the next day to 0.005 positively. The result of Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR) is negative and significant at the 1 percent level in all the six-event windows starting from the event date to day 59 after the event for the TASI index. Even though the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic decreased after 30 days of the event date, it increased during the last ten days of the event window. The stock market volatility of Saudi Arabia increased during the post-event period compared to the pre-event period with a negative mean return of -0.326 and a greater standard deviation. In a conclusion, the study found a significant influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the stock market returns of TASI.