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This chapter discusses the extension of legal equality between male and female citizens in four states in North Africa – Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria – through one specific lens: A married woman's legal capacity to initiate and obtain divorce without the husband's consent. Building on the works of Stein Rokkan and Reinhard Bendix on the expansion of citizenship to the ‘lower classes’, it is argued that amendments in divorce law by introducing in-court divorce for women, in addition to out-of-court divorce, is a significant institutional change that extends legal equality between men and women. The introduction of in-court divorce expands female citizenship by bolstering woman's juridical autonomy and capacity in state law. Changes in divorce laws are thus part of state centralization by means of standardizing rules that regulate family law through public administrative institutions rather than religious organizations. Two questions are addressed: First, how did amendments in divorce laws occur after independence? Second, in which ways did women's bolstered legal capacity in divorce have a spill over effect on reforms in other patriarchal state laws? Based on observations on sequences of change in four states in North Africa, it is argued that amendments that equalize between men and women in divorce should be seen as a key driver for reforms in other state laws, that reduce legal inequality between male and female citizens. In all four states, women's citizenship was extended in nationality law and criminal law after amendments in divorce law gave women unilateral legal power to exit a marital relationship.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) gained attention, particularly SDG 4 which focuses on quality education. Tecnologico de Monterrey, popularly known as TEC, is one of the few elite private universities in Mexico that took significant steps to enhance the quality of education amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, in view of students’ career plans. In this empirical research, an online survey was employed to investigate the mediating role of peers’ feedback on team-based learning (TBL) and career planning skills among university students. The study included 86 students from bachelor’s and master’s programmes. IBM SPSS version 26 and PROCESS Macro v 3.5 were used for the quantitative data analysis. The results confirm that peers’ feedback partially mediates the relationship between TBL and the career planning skills of students. This study provides recommendations to university authorities to develop educational policies in-line with SDG 4, thoroughly revise course curricula of the degree programmes offered, and include online learning activities for solving problems in the current world scenario.

This paper aims to investigate the corrosion resistance of two types of coatings – one is ceria sol coating and the other is ceria sol coating modified by ZnO nanoparticles on 7075 aluminum alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution.

Aluminum alloys were dipped into ceria sol and ceria sol modified by ZnO nanoparticles separately and removed after 10 min from the solutions and dried at 110°C for 30 min and heated at 500 °C for 30 min to form the coatings. The coatings have been characterized by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The EIS tests were performed in a corrosive solution of 3.5% NaCl.

The results showed that the coating of ceria sol modified by ZnO nanoparticles has higher corrosion resistance than the ceria sol coating and the bare sample. Also, the best efficiency is related to aluminum sample immersion after 1 h in NaCl corrosive solution for coating modified by ZnO nanoparticles.

In this research, the modification of ceria sol coating by ZnO nanoparticles had an effect on improving the corrosion behavior of aluminum alloy. It is also understood that modification of coatings is an effective parameter on corrosion resistance.

The aim is to present in this paper an effective strategy in dealing with a semi‐infinite interval by using a suitable mapping that transforms a semi‐infinite interval to a finite interval.

The authors introduce a new orthogonal system of rational functions induced by general Jacobi polynomials with the parameters alpha and beta. It is more flexible in applications. In particular, alpha and beta could be regulated, so that the systems are mutually orthogonal in certain weighted Hilbert spaces.

This approach is applied for solving a non‐linear system two‐point boundary value problem (BVP) on semi‐infinite interval, describing the flow and diffusion of chemically reactive species over a nonlinearly stretching sheet immersed in a porous medium. The new approach reduces the solution of a problem to the solution of a system of algebraic equations.

The paper presents an effective strategy in dealing with a semi‐infinite interval by using a suitable mapping that transforms a semi‐infinite interval to a finite interval.

Previous studies have established to a great extent that regulatory frameworks and, in particular, procurement approaches – that are common in a particular context – have a major impact on the success of building information modelling (BIM) implementation in construction projects. Despite the close links between these two concepts, research on the effect of procurement approaches on BIM implementation is scarce. To address this gap, this paper aims to investigate the barriers that affect BIM implementation through the lens of procurement approaches.

A mixed-method approach was adopted using a questionnaire survey (n = 116) and interviews with key stakeholders (n = 12) in Jordan. The outcomes of the quantitative parts were augmented with findings from interviews.

It was revealed that the deployment of unfavourable construction procurement approaches represents a major hurdle towards BIM implementation. Though essential for enhancing BIM implementation, it is revealed that a fundamental change from the common design-bid-build (DBB) to more collaborative procurement approaches remains infeasible in view of the realities that govern the construction industry.

It was revealed the deployment of unfavourable construction procurement approaches represents a major hurdle towards BIM implementation. Though essential for enhancing BIM implementation, it is revealed that a fundamental change from the common DBB to more collaborative procurement approaches remains infeasible given the realities that govern the construction industry.

As the first of its kind, a set of recommendations for establishing supportive, workable procurement that does not deviate significantly from common procedures and practices is presented. Rather than advocating a shift to procurement approaches that are aligned with BIM, the findings offer novel insight into the necessity of developing a framework within the boundaries of the current and widely adopted procurement approaches to address the identified construction procurement issues and facilitate BIM implementation.

A review of marketing applications of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) shows that major concerns involve the accuracy of knowledge elicitation and choice of a suitable knowledge base. Decision support is suggested with a series of decision rules based on different variations of AHP for both structuring and evaluation, presented in the user interface. Models that solved historical information needs can also be adapted for current marketing conditions by incorporating AHP within a marketing knowledge‐based decision support system (KB‐DSS). Current decision rules might be chosen on the basis of past behaviour that has proved successful, sharing similar marketing conditions and characteristics, captured within a suitable knowledge base. Decision rules are then chosen on the basis of their relevance to the current problem, based on historical AHP case data that are continuously revised. This proposal reduces data collection and processing time.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the number of selection criteria of Islamic and commercial banks in Egypt and to identify the relative influence that each attribute may exert on the selection process. Findings indicate differences in the important selection criteria of Islamic and commercial banks in Egypt. Although the number of attributes was similar, differences prevailed in the relative importance of selection criteria. This finding could be linked to the fundamental difference between these two banking systems that are widely spread in the Middle East.

This chapter explores the determinants of satisfaction of the Islamic microcredit borrowers in Bangladesh. A total of 245, mostly educated and young, borrowers of rural development scheme, the largest Islamic microcredit institution (MCI) in the world, were included in a survey using a structured questionnaire. Factors were extracted using exploratory factor analysis. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify influential determinants of satisfaction of microcredit borrowers. Borrowers have identified the activities and interaction in the “center,” which includes weekly/monthly meetings, investment-related training, and group performance review, as the most vital factor influencing their overall satisfaction. Competence of the microcredit staffs and officials is the second important determinant. Trust plays the next important role in overall satisfaction of the borrowers with the Islamic microcredit institutions. Convenience, of applying for loan, getting an approval, and paying instalments, is the other influential determinant of the borrower’s satisfaction. The findings imply that given the competition and social need of the Islamic microcredit institutions globally, policymakers must ensure greater investment in human capital, in creating awareness about products and services of the Islamic microcredits, and in initiating a prudent change in the regulation so that Islamic microcredit can become a tool for sustainable socioeconomic development. Use of a proper marketing strategy can also help the MCIs to support the financial inclusion policy of the government. Satisfaction of the borrowers of the Islamic microcredit institutions is yet to arrive in Islamic marketing literature. The proposed borrower-centric model can help reduce poverty and the internal loan-shark problem through adequate engagement of relevant stakeholders.

Building information modeling (BIM) is a prominent concept to digitalize data collection and analysis processes. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for a considerable percentage of the works performed in the construction industry. The adoption rate of BIM by SMEs is still, however, not at the desired level in the New Zealand construction industry. This study aims to evaluate barriers to BIM implementation for SMEs in the New Zealand construction industry.

This study adopted four-step methodology to evaluate barriers to BIM adoption for SMEs. First, a comprehensive literature review, followed by a focus group discussion was performed to identify barriers to BIM adoption. Then, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used to assess identified barriers. Finally, experts’ agreements (both internal and external) were ensured by consistency analysis and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (Kendall’s W) tests.

The findings indicate that (1) interoperability between software platforms, (2) lack of government mandate on BIM usage at project level, (3) high cost of acquiring the software and licensing required to use BIM and (4) lack of client demand for adopting BIM were the most significant barriers in terms of technological, governmental, resource and cultural categories, respectively. Further investigation of the expert evaluation showed strong consistencies (each expert separately) and agreements (among experts) in each AHP matrix.

Primary focus should be training of local market (particularly SMEs) professionals as the shortage in qualified professionals makes the country-wide adoption challenging. The publicity in the local market can help SMEs understand how BIM is leveraged for further improvements in project performance.

Overall, this research not only provides a roadmap for the widespread adoption of BIM within SMEs in New Zealand through analysis of the barriers encountered but also highlights the power that policymakers hold over the mass adoption of BIM within SMEs.

This chapter offers a critical outline of the Egyptian feminist movement. It traces the forms of feminist activism and the demands raised by Egyptian feminists throughout the twentieth century and into the new millennium.

The study uses the tools of feminist theory and women’s history in charting a critical outline of the Egyptian women’s movement and feminist activism throughout a century of Egyptian history. The study attempts to identify the main features of the movement in terms of the demands raised by women and the challenges and achievements involved within the socio-political national and international contexts.

The Egyptian feminist movement is divided here into four waves, highlighting the intersections between feminist demands and national demands, as well as Egyptian women’s struggle for their rights. The first wave is seen as focusing on women’s right to public education and political representation. The second wave is marked by women’s achievement of constitutional and legal rights in the context of state feminism. The third wave is characterised by feminist activism in the context of civil society organising. The fourth wave has extended its struggle into the realm of women’s bodies and sexuality.

The study limits itself to forms of women’s agency and feminist activism in the public sphere.

This chapter is an original attempt at outlining the Egyptian women’s movement based on the demands raised and challenges faced. The chapter also suggests the existence of a sense of continuity in the Egyptian women’s movement.