The impact of moral conditions associated with culture on the traditional adoption-diffusion Model: The case of the Qassim Region of Saudi Arabia

The main objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that views cooperative membership in Saudi Arabia as a function of both utilitarian and deontological (moral) perspectives. The research was conducted in the Qassim, an agricultural area located in the Central Region of Saudi Arabia. The sample includes 83 cooperative members, besides 136 non-members. Discriminant analysis is used to test the hypothesis derived in this research. Two models are examined, the first model is based on the traditional adoption-diffusion framework. Thus, discriminating variables included in the first model are related to the socioeconomic characteristics of respondents, information content, sources of information, and advantages of membership in agricultural cooperatives. In the second model, discriminating variables pertaining to moral conditions were used in addition to the original discriminating variables. Results of the discriminant analysis fit the theoretical framework of the study, meaning that farmers become members because of economic (utilitarian) expectations and also because of their desire to cooperate with other farmers. Deontology therefore plays an important role in distinguishing members from non-members.     

Evaluation of community leaders’ perception regarding Alerta Rio,the warning system for landslides caused by heavy rains in Rio de Janeiro

Warning systems help reduce damage and save lives in disasters; however, there is a lack of research analyzing the population perception of these systems. In Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), because the city slums face the risk of landslides caused by heavy rains, a siren early warning system named “Alerta Rio” was installed in 102 areas. The purpose of this paper was to understand the perception of community leaders regarding this alert system. To this end, a survey was conducted with community leaders to collect data on whether and why the public do or do not attend to the alert. Results indicated that (1) public adherence to Alerta Rio is low despite the generally positive view of the system, (2) local violence was reported as the reason for staying at home to protect one’s property, and (3) problems with temporary shelters and the routes to them result in lack of people’s involvement in the system. Whereas these factors are similar to population perception regarding other warning systems, the community leaders also raised the public’s lack of trust in the city hall’s adopted concept of risk and in the politicians as a relevant factor in the population perception of Alerta Rio. These factors, together with the lack of prevention policies complementary with the alert system, led to perception of reduced importance of the system. For potential solutions to enhance alarm compliance, this study recommends improvement in communication, educational programs, and public engagement strategies tailored for each target group.     

The booming growth of the city of Riyadh and its effect on the housing market

The main objective of this study is to devise a method by which one can estimate the number of building units available for use, the purpose of using them and the percentage of vacant units in the city of Riyadh. The raw data for this research were obtained from the Saudi Consolidated Electric Company after being modified by the authorr for the purposes of this work. The analysis of the acquired data shows that Riyadh has witnessed a booming growth in the number of building units. As a result of this tremendous expansion in building and construction, the supply of building units exceeded that of the demand so that some 14% of the building units are left vacant. In the absence of a more recent population census the writer believes that this method may be used to study both land use and population growth and density not only in the city of Riyadh but also in other cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.     

Geoheritage values of one of the largest maar craters in the Arabian Peninsula: the Al Wahbah Crater and other volcanoes (Harrat Kishb, Saudi Arabia)

Al Wahbah Crater is one of the largest and deepest Quaternary maar craters in the Arabian Peninsula. It is NW-SE-elongated, ～2.3 km wide, ～250 m deep and surrounded by an irregular near-perpendicular crater wall cut deeply into the Proterozoic diorite basement. Very few scientific studies have been conducted on this unique site, especially in respect to understanding the associated volcanic eruption processes. Al Wahbah and adjacent large explosion craters are currently a research subject in an international project, Volcanic Risk in Saudi Arabia (VORiSA). The focus of VORiSA is to characterise the volcanic hazards and eruption mechanisms of the vast volcanic fields in Western Saudi Arabia, while also defining the unique volcanic features of this region for use in future geoconservation, geoeducation and geotourism projects. Al Wahbah is inferred to be a maar crater that formed due to an explosive interaction of magma and water. The crater is surrounded by a tephra ring that consists predominantly of base surge deposits accumulated over a pre-maar scoria cone and underlying multiple lava flow units. The tephra ring acted as an obstacle against younger lava flows that were diverted along the margin of the tephra ring creating unique lava flow surface textures that recorded inflation and deflation processes along the margin of the post-maar lava flow. Al Wahbah is a unique geological feature that is not only a dramatic landform but also a site that can promote our understanding of complex phreatomagmatic monogenetic volcanism. The complex geological features perfectly preserved at Al Wahbah makes this site as an excellent geotope and a potential centre of geoeducation programs that could lead to the establishment of a geopark in the broader area at the Kishb Volcanic Field.     

Whether a large disaster could change public concern and risk perception: a case study of the 7/21 extraordinary rainstorm disaster in Beijing in 2012

Natural Hazards - Improving social concerns relating to floods and the perception of the public to risk can reduce the risk of urban flood disasters. This study investigates whether social concern...     

‘The germs are not harmful’: health risk perceptions among consumers of peri-urban grown vegetables in Kumasi,Ghana

Consumption of peri-urban grown vegetables has raised public health concerns due to potential risks of contamination from pathogens, pesticides and heavy metals. Understanding how the public perceives of risk is key in managing the population at risk of consuming contaminated vegetables. However, health risk perceptions research of consumers has largely been given little attention. Using both quantitative and qualitative research techniques, and drawing on risk perception theory, this study examined consumers’ health risk perceptions in relation to urban vegetable consumption in the Oforikrom sub-metropolitan area of the Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana. Results suggest that heath risk perceptions of consumers of urban-grown vegetables is generally low, an indication that consumers’ perceptions have not changed a decade after similar results were reported in Ghana. Consumers’ interpretation of the quality of vegetables and associated health risks deviates from scientific health risk assessments which, does not translate into desired risk mitigation behaviour. Continuous public education on potential health risks of consuming these vegetables and appropriate health risk mitigation measures could be vital in reducing the population at risk.     

Overview of some geological hazards in the Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabia has harsh environmental conditions which enhance some geomorphologic/geological processes more than in other areas. These processes create different geological hazards. The general physiography of the Saudi Arabia is characterized by the Red Sea coastal plains and the escarpment foothills called Tihama, followed by the Arabian Shield Mountains, the Arabian Shelf plateau and finally the Arabian Gulf coastal plains. These types of geological hazards can be categorized into sand accumulations, earth subsidence and fissures, flash floods, problematic soils, slope stability problems, and karst problems. The current study gives an overview of all these hazards with examples, as well as develops a geo-hazard map for the Saudi Arabia. Our findings indicate that the desert environment needs much concern and care. National and international agencies have to join together with other people to keep the system balanced and to reduce the resulting geological hazards. Also, remedial measures should be proposed to avoid and reduce these natural hazards.     

Natural and human-induced sinkhole hazards in Saudi Arabia: distribution,investigation, causes and impacts

Approximately 60 % of the 2,150,000 km² area of Saudi Arabia is underlain by soluble sediments (carbonate and evaporite rock formations, salt diapirs, sabkha deposits). Despite its hyper-arid climate, a wide variety of recent sinkholes have been reported in numerous areas, involving significant property losses. Human activities, most notably groundwater extraction, have induced unstable conditions on pre-existing cavities. This work provides an overview of the sinkhole hazard in Saudi Arabia, a scarcely explored topic. It identifies the main karst formations and the distribution of the most problematic sinkhole areas, illustrated through several case studies covering the wide spectrum of subsidence mechanisms. Some of the main investigation methods are presented through selected examples, including remote sensing, trenching and geophysics. Based on the available data, the main causal factors are identified and further actions that should be undertaken to better assess and manage the risk are discussed.     

The Permian Kas Formation of SE Turkey—palynological correlation with strata from Saudi Arabia and Oman

The Kas Formation in SE Turkey was deposited as part of the Permian sequence on the northern margin of the Arabian Plate. Its stratigraphic relationship to time‐equivalent strata of the Arabian Plate was mentioned briefly in previous studies, but has not been elaborated and illustrated in detail. This biostratigraphic review of existing palaeontological data has improved the accuracy of age interpretation for the Kas Formation, and the relationship of its excellent palynological record to the international Permian chronostratigraphic units. As a result, this study has identified a number of key palynological species from the Kas Formation, which occur as well as in the ‘Basal Khuff Clastics’ of Saudi Arabia and in the ‘Khuff transition section’ of Oman. All these units have approximately the same age: Wordian to early Capitanian, based on ‘age control’ provided by Foraminifera. This study also demonstrates that, by using key palynological taxa, correlation of strata would be possible across the entire Arabian Plate in this narrow time range. Hence, the ‘Oman and Saudi Arabia Palynological Zone 6’ (OSPZ6) is applicable throughout the Arabian Plate area, including the northern regions of SE Turkey and Iraq. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A geological excursion in the Wadi Fatima area, near Jiddah, Saudi Arabia

Wadi Fatima, east of jiddah on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, is a microcosm of the geology of the jiddah area. Rocks ranging in age from 800-million-year-old metamorphic rocks to Tertiary lava flows are exposed, and illustrate the geological richness of western Saudi Arabia. The valley is a major south-west-trending fault zone that has been active since Precambrian times. A major Tertiary dyke swarm in the vicinity of Wadi Fatima is related to the opening of the Red Sea as the African-Arabian landmass split apart.     

Geographic analysis of manufacturing industry in Saudi Arabia

The study focuses on the analysis of manufacturing industry in Saudi Arabia by examining development, structure and spatial distribution. The analysis has shown that Saudi manufacturing is basically of recent development and is highly capital- and energy-intensive, particularly the hydrocarbon-based groups. Perhaps the most conspicuous weakness of Saudi industrialization is the almost total dependence on expatriate labour. Foreign capital and expertise share in the building and development of the industrial sector by providing technical, managerial, and marketing skills. Saudi industry is heavily subsidized by the government, and the public sector plays a commanding role in industrial development. Large-scale basic industries are owned and run by the government, while light manufacturing of the import-substitution type is dominated by the private sector. One of the main characteristics of manufacturing industry is that it is scantily diversified, modestly concentrated and remarkably linked geographically but not functionally or structurally. Although the authorities are exerting tremendous efforts to achieve a regional balance in industrial development, Saudi manufacturing industry is significantly polarized, urban-oriented and highly associated with the major axes of population scatter. Like all developing countries beginning to industrialize, Saudi manufacturing industry faces certain problems which have to be resolved so as to lay the foundations for a sound and prosperous industrial future. The paper goes on to indicate problems and to suggest solutions.     

The ideal-typical sequence model: Its applicability to the development of transport in Saudi Arabia,the Sudan and other Middle Eastern countries

This paper is an attempt to apply the Ideal-Typical Sequence Model which was produced by Taaffe, Morrill and Gould (1963) to the development of modern transport in Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, and other Middle Eastern countries. The model and its principles are explained and then reference was made to studies produced in this connection. The finding of this paper is that the model is broadly applicable to modern transport development in Saudi Arabia but not to the Sudan, although the three principles of penetration, inter-connection and continuous process are applicable in both countries. Some modifications concerning the direction, number of the penetration lines and the motives behind the construction of those lines are made in this paper which are thought to make the model of general application to all under-developed countries irrespective of their geographical characteristics.     

Using landforms of Saudi Arabia for scenic and recreational purposes (With special reference to the Riyadh area)

The landform of Saudi Arabia in general and the Riyadh area in particular have their own potentiality for scenic and recreational purposes. The higher lands or features which have well cemented material in some areas of Riyadh have been recommended for scenic use, while lower lands like wide natural lakes, sand dunes and others can be mostly used for recreational purposes. Such features and purposes found here may be extrapolated into other similar areas within Saudi Arabia and may be compared with other areas elsewhere in the world.     

Patterns and trends in the perception of seismic risk. Case study: Bucharest Municipality/Romania

This research looks at the very nature of perception of seismic risk, an issue that is not only academically important, but also it can save lives and reduce injury and community costs. The background idea is that citizens in big cities, vulnerable to seismic hazard are living with latent and permanent concerns about a possible earthquake. We were interested in revealing significant aspects of Bucharest citizens’ orientations and tendencies in relation to the possible seismic event. Bucharest, the capital of Romania, is exposed to the greatest seismic hazard compared with other European capitals. The dimensions of study were: the anticipations of seism occurrence, the behavior during the event, evaluations of consequences, support factors, and individual vulnerability. This article is an example of the low cost approach on a sample of 190 citizens, understood as an exercise in attempting to relate population characteristics to various aspects of risk perception. The methodology used was based on a field investigation, where the research agents’ applied one questionnaire containing free/post codified/fan answers concerning: demographic variables, the buildings’ features, and perceptions about the possible earthquake event. The findings of this study showed that the hazard perception significantly associates with aspects concerning the subjects’ orientation toward institutional factors/human relations/negativism, and toward financial/material/moral support in case of disaster etc. It is hoped that this issue will serve to inspire further investigations into this very important and socially sensitive field, due to the fact that hazard analysis and mitigation would be more effective when it takes into account the human dimension of disasters.     

Karst Hazard Assessment of Eastern Saudi Arabia

Karst phenomena exist in areas in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, forming solution features such as sinkholes, collapsed dolines and solution caverns, as a result of the chemical leaching of the carbonate and evaporite formations by percolating water. The instability of these karst phenomena could produce land subsidence problems. This paper reviews the geology of documented karstic rock units in Saudi Arabia and proposes a simple engineering classification of the solution features characteristic of limestone. Two case histories in the Dhahran area, eastern Saudi Arabia, will be used as examples for the application of a modified engineering classification.     

First evidence for episodic flooding events in the arid interior of central Saudi Arabia over the last 60 ka

Although evidence for Quaternary environmental changes in the Arabian Peninsula is now growing, research has mostly been conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and in the Sultanate of Oman. There have been virtually no recent studies in Saudi Arabia, especially in the central region such as around Al‐Quwaiayh. In this area there are a series of outwash plains developed along the eastern edge of the Arabian Shield that formed in the late Quaternary. Four sedimentary sections, which are representative of the deposits that have accumulated, have been studied and five luminescence ages obtained. These are the first luminescence ages acquired from Quaternary sediments in central Saudi Arabia. The preserved fluvial deposits in the study area have formed during humid events at ca. 54 ka, ca. 39 ka and ca. 0.8 ka. In more recent times aeolian sands have been encroaching on to the distal parts of the outwash plains. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic Hazard Assessment in the Tihamat Asir Region, Southwestern Saudi Arabia

The occurrence of earthquakes, faulting of Pleistocene sediments, uplifting of Pleistocene coral reefs, recent incised wadis and lava effusions in addition to hot springs all clearly indicate that southeastern Saudi Arabia is tectonically active. This paper reviews the tectonic features of southwestern Saudi Arabia and provides new approaches and maps for the interpretation of old and recent earthquake data for improved assessment of the regional tectonics. A regionalized variable approach is used to develop earthquake groundmotion hazard maps for the region, based on geostatistical methods using the kriging technique. This hazard must be considered in any design/construction of engineering structures in the region. The application of kriging for estimating the ground shaking in the study region succeeded clearly in accomplishing its ultimate aim where the generated groundmotions are well correlated with the instrumental magnitude and historical intensity of any earthquake occurrence in the study region.     

Segregation and seclusion: the case of compounds for western expatriates in Saudi Arabia

In discussions on the “fragmented city” and the boom of private and guarded neighbourhoods, several authors have stressed the importance of a growing differentiation of lifestyles and “cultural” orientations for this trend. The compounds for western foreigners in Saudi Arabia are explicitly based on the idea of a spatial seclusion of social groups with different “cultural” backgrounds. This study presents an overview of the development of these western enclaves. Narrative interviews with former expatriates provide insights into their daily life, their social relations within the compound, and to the Saudi Arabia behind the gates.     

ICL Latin-American Network: on the road to landslide reduction capacity building

There is a clear need for integrated research on landslide disaster risk. Landslide disasters have major impacts in developing countries due to the increasing social vulnerability of both rural and urban communities. In recent decades, landslide disasters in Latin America triggered by both precipitation and earthquakes have also increased considerably. Thus, scientific contributions based on integrated risk research are quite urgent for improving the knowledge base for reducing the vulnerability of exposed communities to landslides. Thus, there is a parallel necessity to promote capacity building for young scientists in Latin America by considering the shift of disaster paradigm to recognize the “unnaturalness” of disasters. Under such a framework, there are particular goals to be pursued including: (1) Development of landslide regional networks with a commitment for understanding risk as a socially constructed process; (2) Engagement of young scientists in integrated landslide risk research; (3) Inducing a scientific multi- and transdisciplinary approach for integrated landslide risk research; (4) Development and implementation of capacity building; (5) Contributing to the dissemination and application of common methodologies on landslide disasters investigations; and (6) Strengthening collaboration on integrated landslide disaster risk research in Latin America. In this paper, we present one of the main activities of the ICL Latin-American network in terms of capacity building carried out in 2013; to that end, the first international workshop on forensic investigations of disasters associated with landslides was held in the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico, from June 26th to July 4th, 2013.