The faster growing energy consumption and urbanization are supporting economic growth but are contributing in the environmental degradation. The existing empirical literature has been remained silent on this serious issue in case of GCC countries. The present study captures these rectangular relationships amongst these variables in the GCC countries by using panel unit root and cointegration tests for a period 1980-2011. The study finds the first difference stationarity and existence of cointegration among the concerned variables. Further, urbanization has the positive impact on CO 2 , energy consumption and economic growth. Economic growth has a positive impact on CO 2 and has a negative impact on energy consumption. Energy consumption has a positive impact on CO 2 and CO 2 has a positive impact on energy consumption and economic growth. The causality tests also confirm the direction of relationships in the most of GCC countries in the country-specific analysis. The results of the study suggest the urban planning and clean energy consumption to avoid the pollutant emissions and to achieve sustainable development for GCC countries in the long run.

A firm with proper cash flow management can increase its financial performance, while improper management might lead to financial failure. Therefore, it is significant for a firm to manage cash inflows and outflows properly. The current study investigates the effect of cash flow from operations (CFOs) on the financial performance of insurance and manufacturing companies in Saudi Arabia. The data were extracted from companies’ annual reports by considering Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) as dependent variables, CFOs as an explanatory variable, firm size (SIZE) and Leverage (LEV) as control variables, and an industry dummy. The results report a positive and significant association between financial performance (ROA and ROE) and operating cash flows (CFOs), and a negative association for SIZE and LEV. Therefore, the study concludes that the firms’ operating cash flows in the insurance and manufacturing sectors in Saudi Arabia affect financial performance.

This study investigates the factors influencing the usage of PSAU Mobile Application by the students at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University (PSAU). This study used Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a framework to predict the factors influencing 67 students' usage of PSAU M-Application. The results of this study were consistent with the TAM framework in predicting the actual usage of the PSAU mobile application for academic activities. The results indicated a significantly positive association of the perceived ease-to-use with perceived usefulness, significantly positive associations of the perceived ease-to-use and the perceived usefulness with the attitude toward the usage of the PSAU's mobile application, a significantly positive association of the perceived usefulness with the behavioral intention toward the usage of the PSAU's mobile application, a significantly positive association of the students' attitude toward the usage of the PSAU's mobile application with the behavioral intention of using the application, and a significantly positive association of the behavioral intention with the actual usage of the PSAU's mobile application. The results of this study should be useful to educational policymakers at PSAU University and elsewhere, as there is an opportunity to enhance the existing technology or adopt new technologies for academic activities.

The study is to attempt to examine effectiveness of internal control system in selected Saudi Banks in Saudi Arabia. The effectiveness of internal control depends and interrelated to five components viz., Control Environment, Risk Assessment, Accounting Information System and Communication System, Control Activities, and Self-Monitoring. These components derived from management and integrated with the management process. Although the components are applicable to all banks, small and medium, sized banks can apply them separately on a large scale. Its control can be less formal and less structured, yet a small bank can control effective internal controls. The study concluded that the Banks in Saudi Arabia have satisfactory internal control system. The Al Rajhi bank has top most internal control system in selected banks. It recommended that there still need to improve in control environment, risk assessment and communication system in banks. The study statistically proved that there is significant difference in effectiveness of Internal Controls in the Selected Saudi Banks.