Corporate Governance Mechanisms in Saudi Arabia: The Case of Family Ownership with Audit Committee Activity

Sami WAKED,Khaled ALJAAIDI 한국유통과학회 2021 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.8 No.5

This paper empirically examines the relationship between one of the major corporate governance attributes; family ownership and the audit committee activity across a sample of 430 publicly traded firms on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) for the period 2012–2019. Using the Pooled OLS regression, this study finds that family ownership is negatively associated with audit committee activity. This study reported that family ownership is negatively associated with audit committee activity, giving support to the convergence-of-interest hypothesis. Therefore, the existence of family ownership as a monitoring corporate governance mechanism substitutes the audit committee activity as another monitoring mechanism. This study provides empirical evidence on the associations of two internal corporate governance mechanisms, namely; family ownership and audit committee activity in the Saudi context where there is a paucity of research in this area. The findings of this study provide a new understanding regarding the extent to which family ownership impacts the activity of audit committees in manufacturing companies. Similarly, the companies’ management, external auditors, bankers, and companies would also benefit from understanding the influential factors of the audit committee activities.

Idiopathic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia: a “Benign Disease” with a Touch of Bad Luck?

Sami Viskin 대한심장학회 2017 Korean Circulation Journal Vol.47 No.3

Ventricular extrasystole originating from the right ventricular outflow tract or the left ventricular outflow tract are the most commonly encountered ventricular arrhythmias recorded in ostensibly healthy individuals with no evidence of heart disease. These ventricular arrhythmias have a distinctive electrocardiographic morphology. The morphology is so distinctive that it is common practice to accept the diagnosis of “idiopathic benign ventricular arrhythmias from the outflow tract” based on this unique morphology when the electrocardiogram during sinus rhythm and the echocardiogram are normal, sometimes removing the need to perform invasive tests in patients. Even if the outflow ventricular extrasystole ultimately triggers sustained ventricular arrhythmia, the resulting ventricular tachycardia (VT) will be a monomorphic VT originating from the outflow tract, which is known to be hemodynamically well tolerated. Thus, idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias originating from outflow tracts are universally considered benign. In 2005, we described a rare form of malignant polymorphic VT resulting in syncope or cardiac arrest. Here, we review the literature on this topic since the emergence of initial descriptions of this intriguing phenomenon.

Le réseau Doustourna ou la constitution 2.0: Un défi pour la démocratie participative

Sami Zlitni 고려대학교 응용문화연구소 2013 에피스테메 Vol.0 No.9

With over 1,500 candidate lists that ran for the election for a Constituent Assembly held on 23 November 2011, it was difficult for independent registered lists to distinguish themselves from political parties as the latter were more rooted in the Tunisian political landscape. Whereas most candidates resorted to, among others, traditional approaches to canvass the country, the “Doustourna” network pinned all his hopes on the Net to promote its program. With a view to participatory democracy “Doustourna” put forward a draft constitution for online assessment. The aim was to make citizens actively participate in public affairs. Due to lack of funds and marginalization on the part of traditional media, “Doustourna” mainly campaigned on social networks to be heard and mobilize public opinion. En vue de l’élection de la l’Assemblée constituante du 23 novembre 2011, plus de 1 500 listes ont été acceptées. Il était difficile aux listes indépendantes de se démarquer des partis politiques plus enracinés dans le paysage politique tunisien. Alors que la plupart des candidats ont eu recours, entre autres, aux modes d’action classiques pour faire campagne aux quatre coins du pays, le réseau Doustourna a tout misé sur la toile pour faire connaitre son programme. Dans une perspective de démocratie participative, il a mis en ligne un projet de constitution soumis à l’évaluation des internautes afin de faire participer les citoyens aux affaires publiques. Par ailleurs, étant marginalisé par les médias classiques et faute de moyens, Doustourna a mené sa campagne électorale principalement sur les réseaux sociaux pour faire entendre sa voix et mobiliser l’opinion publique.

External Debt and Economic Growth: The Case of Emerging Economy

Sami Al Kharusi,Mbah Stella Ada 세종대학교 경제통합연구소 2018 Journal of Economic Integration Vol.33 No.1

This study investigated the relationship between government external borrowing and economic growth, prompted by continuous increases in Oman’s external debt to finance its annual budget. Time series data for the period 1990~2015 were collected from the World Bank and the Central Bank of Oman. The study employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag cointegration approach explain the error correction mechanism to ascertain the short-run dynamic nature of external debt and economic growth. Consistent with some existing empirical evidence, the study reveals a negative and significant influence of external debt on economic growth in Oman. Further, gross fixed capital was found to be positively significant in determining growth performance in Oman. The study, therefore, recommends a more productive use of the external debt fund in order to affect positive growth.

Structural and magnetic properties of Ga-substituted Co2−W hexaferrites

Sami H. Mahmood,Qusai Al Sheyab,Ibrahim Bsoul,Osama Mohsen,Ahmad Awadallah 한국물리학회 2018 Current Applied Physics Vol.18 No.5

Precursor powders of BaCo2Fe16-xGaxO27 with 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8 were prepared using high-energy ball milling, and the effects of chemical composition on the structural and magnetic properties of the powders sintered at 1300 °C were investigated using x-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). XRD patterns of all samples indicated crystallization of pure BaCo2−W (BaCo2Fe16O27) hexaferrite phase. SEM measurements revealed large step-like formations with hexagonal crystallites. The magnetic data revealed small fluctuations of the saturation magnetization below the value 72.56 emu/g corresponding to the unsubstituted sample. The coercive field Hc of all samples ranged between 70 Oe and 130 Oe, indicating soft magnetic phase. Curie temperature determined from the thermomagnetic curves of the samples decreased from 485 °C at x = 0.0 down to 451 °C at x = 0.6. Also, the thermomagnetic curves revealed the presence of a minority magnetic phase with enhanced superexchange interaction, and the occurrence of complex magnetic phase transitions associated with spin reorientation transitions above room temperature.

Relationship between Alcohol Consumption and Ocular Pressure according to Facial Flushing in Korean Men with Obesity

Sami Lee,김종성,Sung Soo Kim,Jin-Gyu Jung,Seok-Joon Yoon,Yuri Seo,Jihan Kim,Yoon Kyung Bae,Ja Young Lee 대한가정의학회 2019 Korean Journal of Family Medicine Vol.40 No.6

Background: This study aimed to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and intraocular pressure (IOP) according to facial flushing in Korean men with obesity. Methods: The study included 479 Korean men with a body mass index of ≥25 kg/m2 (75 non-drinkers, 174 with drinking-related facial flushing, and 230 without facial flushing) who underwent health check-ups between October 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between alcohol consumption and high IOP (≥21 mm Hg). Results: Flushers consuming ≤16 drinks per week had a significantly higher risk of high IOP than non-drinkers, depending on alcohol consumption (≤8 standard drinks: odds ratio [OR], 4.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05– 19.25; >8 but ≤16 standard drinks: OR, 8.14; 95% CI, 1.37–48.45). However, when the consumption was >16 drinks per week, the high IOP risk did not significantly increase (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.05–10.69). In addition, there was no significant relationship between alcohol consumption and high IOP among non-flushers consuming ≤8 drinks per week (OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 0.52–8.19). However, a significantly increased risk of high IOP was observed among nonflushers consuming >8 drinks per week, depending on alcohol consumption (>8 but ≤16 standard drinks: OR, 4.84; 95% CI, 1.14–20.61; >16 standard drinks: OR, 4.08; 95% CI, 1.02–16.26). Conclusion: This study suggests that obese men with alcohol flush reactions may have an increased risk of high IOP with the consumption of smaller amounts of alcohol than non-flushers.

Causal Nexus between Financial Integration and Economic Growth: Does Nonlinearity Matter?

( Sami Saafi ),( Meriem Bel Haj Mohamed ),( Makram Ben Doudou ) 세종대학교 경제통합연구소 2016 Journal of Economic Integration Vol.31 No.4

Empirical studies that rely on a linear framework typically fail to find evidence of a causal link between financial integration and economic growth. In this study, we extend the analysis by applying both linear and nonlinear Granger-causality tests to data for 19 emerging and developing countries. Consistent with previous research, the linear causality analysis reveals only weak causal linkages between financial integration and economic growth. In contrast, the nonlinear causality analysis provides evidence of significant nonlinear causality in 18 out of 19 countries. The growth hypothesis holds true for Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Morocco, Tunisia, and Venezuela whereas a reverse relation was found in Brazil, Chile, Cote d`Ivoire, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, and Paraguay. The feedback hypothesis also exists in Bolivia and Uruguay. Overall, the divergent results in the 19 countries imply that policies cannot be uniformly implemented as there would have been different effects in each country.

Pathologic Evaluation of Routine Nasopharynx Punch Biopsy in the Adult Population: Is It Really Necessary?

Sami Bercin,Gokhan Yalciner,Togay Muderris,Fatih Gul,H. Mervan Deger,Muzaffer Kiris 대한이비인후과학회 2017 Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology Vol.10 No.3

Objectives. To retrospectively evaluate the patients who underwent nasopharyngeal biopsy with imaging and biopsy results, who have or don’t have symptoms for nasopharyngeal pathology and to determine the ratio of the nasopharyngeal cancer cases and other pathologic conditions. Methods. In this retrospective study, 983 patients who underwent endoscopic nasopharyngeal biopsy for symptomatic nasopharyngeal lesions were included. All pathological results, benign or malign was recorded and classified due to the patients’ presenting symptoms such as symptomatic for nasopharyngeal pathology or asymptomatic. Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports were also recorded separately as group A for malignancy or group B for not malignancy. Results. Forty-five (4.6%) of 983 biopsies were malignant. In this group, there is no statistically significant difference between symptomatic and asymptomatic group. For malignant pathologies, the sensitivity of MRI was found 88.2% and CT was 61.5%. Conclusion. For early diagnosis of nasopharyngeal cancer, all patients admitted to Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) referral clinics should be examined endoscopically irrespective of their complaints and suspicious cases should be investigated by imaging especially by MRI. If MRI report clearly indicates Thornwaldt cyst or reactive lymphoid hyperplasia and this result is compatible with endoscopic findings, biopsy may not be necessary. Apart from these cases, all suspected lesions should be biopsied.

SOME NEW COMMON FIXED POINTS OF GENERALIZED RATIONAL CONTRACTIVE MAPPINGS IN DISLOCATED METRIC SPACES WITH APPLICATION

( Sami Ullah Khan ),( Muhammad Arshad ),( Tahair Rasham ),( Abdullah Shoaib ) 호남수학회 2017 호남수학학술지 Vol.39 No.2

The objective of this manuscript is to continue the study of fixed point theory in dislocated metric spaces, introduced by Hitzler et al. [12]. Concretely, we apply the concept of dislocated metric spaces and obtain theorems asserting the existence of common fixed points for a pair of mappings satisfying new generalized rational contractions in such spaces.

Do Analyst Practices and Broker Resources Affect Target Price Accuracy? An Empirical Study on Sell Side Research in an Emerging Market

Samie Ahmed Sayed 한국유통과학회 2014 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.1 No.3

This paper attempts to measure the impact of non-financial factors including analyst practices and broker resources on performance of sell side research. Results reveal that these non-financial factors have a measurable impact on performance of target price forecasts. Number of pages written by an analyst (surrogate for analyst practice) is significantly and directly linked with target price accuracy indicating a more elaborate analyst produces better target price forecasts. Analyst compensation (surrogate for broker resource) is significantly and inversely linked with target price accuracy. Out performance by analysts working with lower paying firms is possibly associated with motivation to migrate to higher paying broking firms. The study finds that employing more number of analysts per research report has no significant impact on target price accuracy –negative coefficient indicates that team work may not result in better target price forecasts. Though insignificant, long term forecast horizon negatively affects target price accuracy while stock volatility improves target price accuracy.