ICT has become an increasingly important factor in the development process of nations. Major barriers can be met in the adoption and diffusion of e-government services depending on the readiness of a country in terms of ICT infrastructure and deployment. This study aims to define organizational requirements that will be necessary for the adoption of e-government to resolve the delay of ICT readiness in public sector organizations in developing countries. Thus, this study contributes an integrated e-government framework for assessing the ICT readiness of government agencies. Unlike the existing e-government literature that focuses predominantly on technical issues and relies on generic e-readiness tools, this study contributes a comprehensive understanding of the main factors in the assessment of e-government organizational ICT readiness. The proposed e-government framework comprises seven dimensions of ICT readiness assessment for government organizations including e-government organizational ICT strategy, user access, e-government program, ICT architecture, business process and information systems, ICT infrastructure, and human resource. This study is critical to management in assessing organizational ICT readiness to improve the effectiveness of e-government initiatives.

Given the significant investment in e-government programs internationally and the pertinent need for e-government readiness to allow such programs to germinate, the purpose of this study is to assess Organizational E-Government Readiness (OEGR) in Saudi Arabia. Based on interviews held with leading e-Government officials in Saudi Arabia, the study contributes a conceptual framework to evaluate OEGR factors in order to advance public sector transformation to E-Government. The study reveals that key factors pertaining to strategy, integration with national E-Government programs, access, portal, process, technology and people issues should be critically assessed in evaluating OEGR. The OEGR framework provided in this study is significant as it can be used by a range of stakeholders including information technology managers and policy makers in improving OEGR within the public sector and thus, in increasing the quality of public service delivery. Academic research examining the main internal organization factors leading to e-Government readiness is still sparse. The research extends the literature on e-readiness by adopting an organizational level perspective in an e-Government context.

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IntroductionMetabolic Syndrome (MetS) is one of the most common syndromes that include a set of serious cardiovascular risk factors. MetS is highly prevalent in the high risk population and contributes to reduced lifespan. The primary goal of the study is to assess the prevalence of MetS and its relation to the treatment modalities and the psychiatric diagnosis.MethodsA cross-sectional study for the hospitalized patients in the Mental Health hospital in Taif city, Saudi Arabia that was conducted between Dec 2013 - Nov 2015. We included adult patients who were admitted to the inpatient service. We diagnosed MetS according to the new International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition.ResultsA total of 313 patients with mean age 48.4+10.8 years old, the majority were male and single, 68.3% have high school degree or less, mean BMI in the overweight range, and mean waist circumference 96.5+14.0 cm. Compared to these without MetS, those with MetS more likely to have BMI and waist circumference (P <0.001), higher SBP (P 0.028), have diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia (all P <0.001), longer inpatient hospitalization (P 0.0036), report sedentary lifestyle (P 0.733), consume soft drink on a daily basis (P 0.030), and were active smoker (P 0.002). Those with MetS were less likely to be on Haloperidol and valproic acid (P 0.026).Conclusion39% of the participated hospitalized patients met the criteria for MetS and they tends to have significantly higher adiposity measures, cardiovascular markers, more likely to have comorbid conditions, and be active smokers.

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