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This study investigated the attitudes and concerns of Saudi higher educational institution (HEI) academics about privacy and security in online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Online Questionnaire questionnaire was designed to explore Saudi HEI academic’s attitudes and concerns about privacy and security issues in online teaching. The questionnaire asked about attitudes and concerns held before the pandemic and since the pandemic. The questionnaire included four sections. At the beginning of the questionnaire, participants were asked what the phrase “online privacy and security” meant to them, to gain an initial understanding of what it meant to academics. A definition for what we intended for the survey was then provided: “that a person’s data, including their identity, is not accessible to anyone other than themselves and others whom they have authorised and that their computing devices work properly and are free from unauthorised interference” (based on my reading of a range of sources, e.g. Schatz et al., 2017; Steinberg, 2019; NCS; Windley, 2005). This was to ensure that participants did understand what I was asking about in subsequent sections.

This study investigated the attitudes and concerns of Saudi HEI academics about privacy and security in online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings provide several key insights: Key aspects of online privacy and security for Saudi HEI academics: Saudi HEI academic’s notion of online privacy and security is about the protection of personal data, preventing unauthorized access to data and ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of data. This underscores the significance of robust measures to safeguard sensitive information in online teaching, but also the need to make academics aware of the other aspects of online privacy and security. Potential to improve policies and training about online privacy and security in Saudi HEIs: Although many participants were aware of the online privacy and security policies of their HEI, only a small percentage had received training in this area. Thus, there is a need to improve the development and dissemination of policies and to provide academics with appropriate training in this area and encourage them to take available training. Use of videoconferencing and chat technologies and cultural sensitivities: The study highlighted moderate levels of concern among Saudi HEI academics regarding the use of videoconferencing and online chat technologies, and their concerns about cultural factors around the use of these technologies. This emphasizes the need for online teaching and the growing use of technologies in such teaching to respect cultural norms and preferences, highlighting the importance of fostering a culturally sensitive approach to technology deployment and use. Surprising low webcam use: An unexpected finding is the low use of webcams by both academics and students during online teaching sessions, prompting a need for a deeper understanding of the dynamics surrounding webcam engagement in such sessions. This calls for a reevaluation of the effectiveness of webcam use in the teaching process and underscores the importance of exploring methods for enhancing engagement and interaction in online teaching. In summary, this paper investigated the attitudes and concerns about privacy and security in the online teaching of Saudi HEI academics during the coronavirus pandemic. The study reveals areas where further research and policy development can enhance the online teaching experience. As the education landscape continues to evolve, institutions must remain proactive in addressing the concerns of their academics while fostering a culturally sensitive approach to technology deployment.

One limitation of this study is the relatively small qualitative data sample, despite the adequate size of the sample including 36 academics from various Saudi Arabian HEIs for quantitative analysis. It was necessary to make the most of the open-ended questions optional – participants did not have to answer about concerns if they did not want to, as we did not want to make the questionnaire too long and onerous to complete. Consequently, the number of academics responding to the open-ended questions was limited, emphasizing the need for additional data and alternative research methods to further these issues. The study was focused on investigating the concerns of HEI Saudi academics, recognizing that the attitudes and concerns of academics in other countries may differ. Furthermore, the research also includes an exploration of the changes in academic attitudes and concerns before and since the COVID-19 pandemic, which will be the subject of further data analysis.

This research delves into Saudi HEI academics' perceptions and concerns regarding privacy and security in online education during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Notably, it highlights the moderate priority placed on online privacy and security, the unexpectedly low usage of webcams and the potential for enhancing policies and training. The study emphasizes the necessity for comprehensive measures to protect sensitive data and the importance of tailored policies for educators. It also underscores the need for a more nuanced understanding of webcam usage dynamics, offering valuable insights for institutions aiming to improve online education and address educators' concerns amidst evolving educational landscapes.

Seasonal influenza epidemics accounted for significant morbidity and mortality loads worldwide despite the availability of a safe vaccine as an efficient tool against severity of the disease. However, the uptake of the latter was sub-optimal. This study aims to identify predictors and barriers related to seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

A cross-sectional study enrolled 502 individuals attending primary healthcare centers in Bahrain for ambulatory care between July and August 2022. The data were collected using an interviews-based questionnaire which included questions on demographic data, knowledge and attitudes and practices toward influenza vaccine. The authors identified the barriers as well as the determinants of the vaccine uptake and its recommendation to others.

The mean age of participants was 35.07 years (SD = 13.9). Most of the respondents were Bahraini (86.5%) and 53.4 % were females. The results revealed that 34.1% have previous information about the influenza vaccine and 36.9% versus 69.9% are willing to receive the vaccine or advice it to others, respectively. Determinants of vaccine uptake were identified.

This study confirmed a sub-optimal influenza vaccine acceptance in the general community of Bahrain despite a global access in primary care. Health professionals need to be more proactive in mobilizing the community and particularly females toward influenza vaccination.

Having defined liquidity, the aim is to assess the predictive capacity of its representative variables, so that economic fluctuations may be better understood.

Conceptual variables that are representative of liquidity will be used to formulate the predictions. The results of various machine learning models will be compared, leading to some reflections on the predictive value of the liquidity variables, with a view to defining their selection.

The predictive capacity of the model was also found to vary depending on the source of the liquidity, in so far as the data on liquidity within the private sector contributed more than the data on public sector liquidity to the prediction of economic fluctuations. International liquidity was seen as a more diffuse concept, and the standardization of its definition could be the focus of future studies. A benchmarking process was also performed when applying the state-of-the-art machine learning models.

Better understanding of these variables might help us toward a deeper understanding of the operation of financial markets. Liquidity, one of the key financial market variables, is neither well-defined nor standardized in the existing literature, which calls for further study. Hence, the novelty of an applied study employing modern data science techniques can provide a fresh perspective on financial markets.

因此,就了解經濟週期和經濟發展而言,流動資金是一個極其重要的概念。本研究擬在安全資產的價格預測方面取得進步。安全資產代表了經濟的實際情況,特別是美國的十年期國債。

流動資金的定義上面已說明了; 為進一步了解經濟波動,本研究擬對流動資金代表性變量的預測能力進行評估。

研究使用作為流動資金代表的概念變項去規劃預測。各機器學習模型的結果會作比較,這會帶來對流動資金變量的預測值的深思,而深思的目的是確定其選擇。

只要在私營部門內流動資金的數據比公營部門的流動資金數據、在預測經濟波動方面貢獻更大時,我們發現、模型的預測能力也會依賴流動資金的來源而存在差異。國際流動資金被視為一個晦澀的概念,而它的定義的標準化,或許應是未來學術研究的焦點。當應用最先進的機器學習模型時,標桿分析法的步驟也施行了。

若我們對有關的變量加深認識,我們就可更深入地理解金融市場的運作。流動資金,雖是金融市場中一個極其重要的變量,但在現存的學術文獻裏,不但沒有明確的定義,而且也沒有被標準化; 就此而言,未來的研究或許可在這方面作進一步的探討。因此,本研究為富有新穎思維的應用研究,研究使用了現代數據科學技術,這可為探討金融市場提供一個全新的視角。