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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the influence of audit committee characteristics and external audit quality on the performance of non-financial public limited companies listed on the National Stock Exchange 100.

One-way random effect panel data regression was applied to 74 non-financial firms in the Nifty 100 from 2014 until 2019. The overall audit committee index and external audit index were built based on the new Indian Companies Act, 2013 and on a review of the literature to capture the impact of the new Act on firm financial performance.

The outcome of the study revealed that there is lack of evidence to show that audit committee characteristics improve the performance of top Indian non-financial listed firms. However, external audit quality was found to have a significant positive impact on the financial performance of firms as measured by Tobin’s Q, while firm size and leverage were found to have a significant impact on the financial performance of firms as measured by return on assets and return on equity.

This paper will be greatly beneficial for financial practitioners and policymakers because it provides practical suggestions and recommendations about the types of external audit that are indispensable for the overall effectiveness and performance of firms. The study findings may also aid strategic policy formulation and execution for better corporate governance practices for the purpose of profit and wealth maximisation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, to date, no previous research has evaluated the effects of audit committee features and external audit quality on the financial performance of firms in India after the implementation of the new Companies Act, 2013. Hence, this study fills this void in the present literature by examining the overall features of the audit committee and external audit and their impact on firm performance in the setting of India.

Effective translation has become essential for seamless cross-cultural communication in an era of global interconnectedness. Translation management systems (TMS) have redefined the translation landscape, revolutionizing project management and execution. This study examines the attitudes of translation agencies and professional translators towards integrating and utilizing TMS, with a specific focus on Saudi Arabia.

The study's design was based on a thorough mixed-methods strategy that purposefully combined quantitative and qualitative procedures to create an array of findings. Through a survey involving 35 participants (both project managers and professional translators) and a series of interviews, this research explores the adoption of TMS, perceived benefits, influencing factors and future considerations. This integrated approach sought to investigate the nuanced perceptions of Saudi translation companies and expert translators about TMS. By combining the strengths of quantitative data's broad scopes and qualitative insights' depth, this mixed-methods approach sought to overcome the limitations of each method, ultimately resulting in a holistic understanding of the multifaceted factors shaping attitudes within Saudi Arabia's unique translation landscape.

Based on questionnaires and interviews, the study shows that 80% of participants were familiar with TMS, and 57% had adopted it in their work. Benefits included enhanced project efficiency, collaboration and quality assurance. Factors influencing adoption encompassed cost, compatibility and resistance to change. The study further delved into participants' demographic profiles and years of experience, with a notable concentration in the 6–10 years range. TMS adoption was linked to improved translation processes, and participants expressed interest in AI integration and mobile compatibility. Deployment models favored cloud-based solutions, and compliance with industry standards was deemed vital. The findings underscore the evolving nature of TMS adoption in Saudi Arabia, with diverse attitudes shaped by cultural influences, technological compatibility and awareness.

This research provides a holistic and profound perspective on the integration of TMS, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of the opportunities, obstacles and potential pathways to success. As the translation landscape continues to evolve, the findings from this study will serve as a valuable compass guiding practitioners and researchers towards effectively harnessing the power of technology for enhanced translation outcomes.

Grit is a novel, rather an important psychological variable that has been associated with performance in the English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) context. However, there is a dearth of research on the relationship of grit and pronunciation performance among EFL learners. Consequently, the current study sought to establish the association between grit and the pronunciation performance of Saudi EFL learners by employing pronunciation self-efficacy beliefs as a mediating variable.

A quantitative correlational research design was deployed in this research. Data were collected from 350 Saudi university EFL learners using questionnaires and a pronunciation test.

Findings indicated that both the dimensions of grit (i.e. perseverance of effort and consistency of interest) showed a significant and positive association with the learners' pronunciation self-efficacy beliefs. Also, the pronunciation self-efficacy beliefs showed a significant and positive association with the pronunciation performance. Lastly, findings indicated that pronunciation self-efficacy beliefs mediated the association between girt (i.e. perseverance of effort and consistency of interest) and pronunciation performance.

The study’s findings have implications for the EFL classroom. By incorporating grit and self-efficacy beliefs into students, teachers can enhance their students' English pronunciation performance.

This study aims to investigate the impact of corporate characteristics on leverage in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) non-financial listed firms.

A sample comprising a balanced panel for eight years from 2009–2016 for four Gulf countries is used. In total, 85 non-financial listed companies have been selected using a non-probability sampling technique. Corporate characteristics are represented by return on assets (ROA), return on equity, return on capital employed, market value-added, Tobin-Q, liquidity and firm size. The study used fixed and random effect models to estimate the results.

The findings of the study revealed that both ROA and FSIZE have a significant negative effect on leverage. However, market value-added, return on capital employed and Tobin-Q exhibited a statistically significant positive effect on leverage. Further, the results indicated that Qatar is better than kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Oman and the UAE. In addition, evidence noted that KSA is better than both UAE and Oman in terms of the overall impact of corporate characteristics on the leverage. However, this effect is not statistically significant.

This study provides an open insight for managers, bankers, financial analysts in the GCC countries and some other developing economies by highlighting the relationship between corporate characteristics and leverage in an emerging market.

The current study provides an important insight into corporate characteristics and leverage. By so doing, it provides an attempt to identify the factors influencing corporate financing behavior taking into consideration different issues such as different proxies of firms’ profitability, market capitalization, market value added and liquidity, which provides original evidence from Gulf countries emerging markets. These countries are characterized by low tax rates and high liquidity. High liquidity may reduce the cost of borrowing and debt financing may not be a huge burden on firms’ profits. This makes the investigation of leverage and corporate characteristics, particularly, firms’ profitability and liquidity, very important. Therefore, the study tries to bridge an existing gap in the body of literature of capital structure and debt financing in Gulf countries emerging markets.

This study aims to explore the relationship between risk governance characteristics (chief risk officer [CRO], chief financial officer [CFO] and senior directors [SENIOR]) and regulatory adjustments (RAs) in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development public commercial banks.

Using principal component analysis (PCA) and regression models, the research analyzes a representative data set of these banks.

A significant negative correlation between risk governance characteristics and RAs is found. Sensitivity analysis on the regulatory Tier 1 capital ratio and the total capital ratio indicates mixed outcomes, suggesting a complex relationship that warrants further exploration.

The study’s limited sample size calls for further research to confirm findings and explore risk governance’s impact on banks’ capital structures.

Enhanced risk governance could reduce RAs, influencing banking policy.

The study advocates for improved banking regulatory practices, potentially increasing sector stability and public trust.

This study contributes to understanding risk governance’s role in regulatory compliance, offering insights for policymaking in banking.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of cloud service users’ privacy concerns, which are anticipated to considerably hinder cloud service market growth. The researchers have explored privacy concerns from dimensions that were identified as relevant in the cloud context.

Content analysis was used to identify privacy problems that were most often raised in previous cloud research. Multidimensional developmental theory (MDT) was used to build a conceptual model of cloud privacy concerns. Literature review was made to identify the privacy-related constructs used to measure privacy concerns in previous cloud research.

The paper provides systematization of recent cloud privacy research, proposal of a conceptual model of cloud privacy concerns, identification of measuring instruments that were used to measure privacy concerns in previous cloud research and identification of categories of problems that need to be addressed in future cloud research.

This paper has identified the categories of privacy problems and dimensions that have not yet been measured in the cloud context, to the best of the authors’ knowledge. Their simultaneous examination could clarify the effects of different dimensions on the privacy concerns of cloud users. The conceptual model of cloud privacy concerns will allow cloud service providers to focus on key cloud problems affecting users’ privacy concerns and use the most appropriate privacy protection communication and preservation approaches.

This study aimed to address the importance and effects of studying history and Islamic history on students’ political awareness.

To achieve the objectives of this study, a questionnaire was used. A total of 315 university students aged 17–50 years old participated in the study. These students represented three of the most influential universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The results revealed a strong, positive and significant correlation between the study of history and students’ political awareness.

The findings of this study indicated that studying history and Islamic history leads to an increased level of students’ political awareness. Therefore, studying history is important for university students to develop their political awareness and prepare them as future leaders.