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In smart cities striving for innovation, development, and prosperity, hydrogen offers a promising path for decarbonization. However, its effective integration into the evolving energy landscape requires understanding regional intricacies and identifying areas for improvement. This chapter examines hydrogen transport from production to utilization, evaluating technologies’ pros, cons, and process equations and using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) tool to assess these technologies based on multiple criteria. It also explores barriers and opportunities in hydrogen transport within the 21st-century energy transition, providing insights for overcoming challenges. Evaluation criteria for hydrogen transport technologies were ranked by relative importance, with energy efficiency topping the list, followed by energy density, infrastructure requirements, cost, range, and flexibility. Safety, technological maturity, scalability, and compatibility with existing infrastructure received lower weights. Hydrogen transport technologies were categorized into three performance levels: low, medium, and high. Hydrogen tube trailers ranked lowest, while chemical hydrides, hydrail, liquid organic hydrogen carriers, hydrogen pipelines, and hydrogen blending exhibited moderate performance. Compressed hydrogen gas, liquid hydrogen, ammonia carriers, and hydrogen fueling stations demonstrated the highest performance. The proposed framework is crucial for next-gen smart cities, cutting emissions, boosting growth, and speeding up development with a strong hydrogen infrastructure. This makes the region a sustainable tech leader, improving air quality and well-being. Aligned with Gulf Region goals, it is key for smart cities. Policymakers, industries, and researchers can use these insights to overcome barriers and seize hydrogen transport tech opportunities.

The study aims to examine the association between virtual communication effectiveness (VCE), leadership effectiveness (LE) and the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in the post-pandemic era.

A survey was conducted among 305 employees in the Indian IT sector using an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using reliability, validity and moderated regression analysis.

The findings reveal that VCE is a significant predictor of LE. EI plays a significant moderating role between VCE and LE.

This study establishes the role of EI in pre-empting LE. Furthermore, it results in the advancement of improved tools for the selection, training and development of leadership talent. Research on virtual communication (VC) and EI enhances our understanding of effective leadership. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present research is one of the first to link and standardize various practices of VC, and EI to increase LE in the post-pandemic era.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of different texture ratios of bionic scallop microtextures on the tribological performance of shot-peened 65Mn steel plow surfaces.

This study first uses ultrasonic shot peening to strengthen the 65Mn steel plow surface, followed by laser processing to create bio-inspired scallop shell microtexture protrusions with varying texture ratios. The hardness of the samples is measured using an HV-1000D Vickers hardness tester, and the surface roughness is assessed using a TR200 roughness tester. Tribological performance tests are conducted under lubrication with earthworm body fluid using an HSR-2M reciprocating friction and wear tester. The surface structure and wear scar morphology of the samples are observed using an M330BD-HK830 metallurgical microscope and an S-4800FE scanning electron microscope.

Ultrasonic shot peening increases the surface roughness of the 65Mn steel plow, leading to increased friction, while the enhanced hardness improves wear resistance. The single bionic scallop microtexture protrusions have limited effectiveness in improving the friction and wear resistance of the 65Mn steel plow surface. However, bionic scallop microtextures with different texture ratios can improve the friction and wear resistance of the shot-peened 65Mn steel plow surface to varying degrees. When the texture ratio is 37%, compared to the single shot-peened sample, the maximum reduction in friction coefficient under 20 N and 50 N loads is 19.86% and 22.98%, respectively, while the maximum reduction in wear rate is 84.25% and 87.91%, respectively.

The research results provide a reference for preparation methods to achieve plow surfaces with excellent anti-adhesion, drag reduction and wear resistance properties.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2024-0303/

The purpose of this study is to determine the enablers of the quality of work life (QWL) of employees working in the Garment industries.

The study was carried out in a fivefold step. In the first step, the enablers of QWL were identified through an exhaustive literature survey, in the second step identified vital few components through Pareto analysis. Then the third step was followed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to further, to identify the precise components and validate the same using confirmatory factor analysis in fourth step. The final step included interpretive structural modeling and Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification analysis to model the validated components and determine the interrelationships and linkages.

Predominant QWL enablers of employees working in the garment industries are training and development, satisfaction in job, compensation and rewards, relation and co-operation, grievance handling, work environment, job nature, job security and facilities.

In this study, the interpretive structural model is designed based on the opinion of the experts who are working in the garment industry considering the responses from employees in garment sectors. The framework can be extended further to the other sectors.

In future, the researchers in QWL may develop a model to quantify the level of employees’ QWL who are working in different sectors. Enablers of QWL are essential, and based on this further statistical analysis can be carried out. This study will provide limelight to the researchers in choosing the valid and reliable set of enablers for the empirical studies. Organizations can get benefit by implementing the outcome of this research for the enhancement of the QWL of employees.

The study was carried out in 133 garment industries where 851 workers constituted the final valid responses that were considered for analysis. The outcomes from the study help administrators, policy and decision-takers in taking decisions to enhance QWL.

The presence of financial experts within audit committees (AC, hereafter) has been a central concern for regulatory bodies. These guidelines underscore the significance of having members with distinct financial acumen and proficiency on AC. The primary objective of this research is to explore the influence of financial expertise within AC on internal control weaknesses (ICWs, hereafter). Furthermore, another aim of this study is to examine the potential combined impact of CEO overconfidence on this correlation.

The statistical analysis has been done through the implementation of a multiple regression model by adopting a sample of 82 Jordanian companies, chosen from the years 2014 to 2020.

This research reveals that an AC with higher levels of financial expertise is linked to fewer ICWs. Upon further examination, this paper observes that this negative impact is primarily driven by the presence of accounting expertise, as opposed to nonaccounting expertise. It is also evident that CEOs with overconfidence may interfere with the decision-making processes of the audit committees, thus compromising the internal controls even though the committee is financially and accountancy literate.

This research distinguishes between accounting and nonaccounting financial experience in AC and shows that accounting experience significantly reduces internal control problems. In addition, it introduces CEO overconfidence as a moderating variable, which provides new insights into the field of corporate governance. The implications of these findings are far-reaching in enhancing transparency, trust and accountability by enhancing the quality of internal control.

The purpose of this review is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of financial fraud exploiting the elderly by mapping its evolution, identifying major metrics and discussing directions for future research.

A bibliometric analysis was conducted, based on 434 articles retrieved from the Web of Science that represent the academic literature on the topic from 1995 to the first quarter of 2024. This paper analyses the antecedents of financial fraud exploiting the elderly, the publication trends and the most prolific countries, institutions, journals, research areas and authors. Bibliometric analyses based on co-citation and co-words explore the intellectual structure of the topic. A bibliographic coupling analysis reveals the hottest research trends in this field.

A significant increase in the number of publications in recent years shows the importance gained by this research stream. The bibliometric analysis identifies four clusters throughout the literature: differentiation of types of elder abuse; protection of the elderly from fraud; cognitive and decision-making capacity in ageing; and factors influencing fraud victimization of the eldest. The most recent research lines identified through bibliographic coupling focused on the contextual and personal antecedents of financial exploitation of the elderly, as well as the possible impact of interventions. Several key research gaps and additional suggestions for further studies, as well as action lines for the financial authorities and economic agents, are outlined.

This paper contributes to knowledge about financial fraud exploiting the elderly synthesizing the existing literature, stressing that the banking industry has to deal with such financial fraud in the context of a growing relevance of the silver economy.

This study aims to explore the factors affecting sustainable workplace remodeling in Saudi Arabia.

A literature review was conducted, resulting in 30 factors grouped into five categories. A questionnaire was designed and tested, and stakeholders including architects/engineers (A/Es), contractors and facilities managers were surveyed to evaluate the importance of these factors. The responses were analyzed to determine the relative importance index (RII), importance rating (IR) and ranking of each factor.

All 30 factors were evaluated as “Extremely Important” and “Very Important” in the collective assessment conducted by the three stakeholder categories. The findings revealed that the key factors, unanimously highlighted by all groups, include “The highest-ranking factors Constrained budget for the project”, “Availability of an experienced contractor in the remodeling field”, “Compliance with safety codes and standards”, “Underestimation of project complexity” and “Availability of specifications”.

The study presents an approach for assessing stakeholder consensus, using the RII and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to analyze the results. This approach aims to improve understanding of how various stakeholders influence and perceive sustainability in construction projects.

The study offers guidance for various stakeholders, to integrate sustainable practices into their operations. It emphasizes communication, implementing cost-efficient designs and ensuring compliance with sustainability standards to enhance the longevity and efficiency of remodeled workplaces.

The study adds to the current knowledge base by providing insights into sustainable practices of workplace remodeling specific to the context of Saudi Arabia.

This study examines the relationship between Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices and financial distress in times of uncertainty.

Thomson Reuters ESG database, Compustat and Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) were used to derive a final sample size of 1,572 firms and 11,618 firm-year observations from 2003 to 2022. Fixed-effects regression was used to analyze the data.

It was found that increasing ESG involvement leads to an increase in Z score (i.e. lower financial distress), and this impact was more profound during the COVID-19 period and also when firms' innovativeness increased. However, during the COVID-19 period, increases in capital expenditures weaken the positive effect of ESG on financial distress.

This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the impact of ESG performance on financial distress and the nature of this relationship during times of uncertainty such as COVID-19.

This study offers insights to managers and practitioners when developing their corporate financial strategies, particularly financial distress management, showing the potential benefits of innovativeness and capital intensity during turbulent times similar to COVID-19.

Little knowledge exists on how ESG engagement helps weather financial distress during periods of uncertainty due to external shocks (e.g. COVID-19). This paper looks at the effect of ESG engagement on financial distress and how capital intensity and innovativeness could influence this relationship while giving fresh insights into the impact of COVID-19.

With the development of data mining technology, diverse and broader domain knowledge can be extracted automatically. However, the research on applying knowledge mapping and data visualization techniques to genealogical data is limited. This paper aims to fill this research gap by providing a systematic framework and process guidance for practitioners seeking to uncover hidden knowledge from genealogy.

Based on a literature review of genealogy's current knowledge reasoning research, the authors constructed an integrated framework for knowledge inference and visualization application using a knowledge graph. Additionally, the authors applied this framework in a case study using “Manchu Clan Genealogy” as the data source.

The case study shows that the proposed framework can effectively decompose and reconstruct genealogy. It demonstrates the reasoning, discovery, and web visualization application process of implicit information in genealogy. It enhances the effective utilization of Manchu genealogy resources by highlighting the intricate relationships among people, places, and time entities.

This study proposed a framework for genealogy knowledge reasoning and visual analysis utilizing a knowledge graph, including five dimensions: the target layer, the resource layer, the data layer, the inference layer, and the application layer. It helps to gather the scattered genealogy information and establish a data network with semantic correlations while establishing reasoning rules to enable inference discovery and visualization of hidden relationships.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges, particularly intensifying the financial and psychological burden for individuals with student loans in the United States. Firstly, this study examined the association between student loan ownership and financial well-being during the pandemic. Secondly, among student loan holders, we tested the association of financial anxiety and payment delinquency with COVID-19 shocks and financial knowledge. Lastly, we investigated the associations between the recipients of student loans and their financial well-being, anxiety and behaviors concerning student loans.

Utilizing data from the 2021 National Financial Capability Study, we explored how unprecedented economic disruptions have affected student loan holders' financial well-being, levels of debt anxiety and payment delinquency, considering financial knowledge as a critical factor. We conducted Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and logistic regressions to examine the associations addressed in the purpose of the study.

The results of regression analyses indicate that individuals with student loans generally experienced lower financial well-being than those without loans. Among student loan holders, COVID-19 shocks were positively associated with student loan anxiety and payment delinquency. Additionally, subjective financial knowledge showed a positive association, while objective financial knowledge displayed a negative association with loan delinquency. Lastly, respondents who secured loans for themselves exhibited lower levels of financial well-being than other student loan holders.

This study represents one of the initial efforts to investigate the issues of financial well-being, debt anxiety and payment delinquency among student loan holders, along with their associations with the potential COVID-19 shocks they experienced. The research shed light on the acute financial stress and mental health challenges faced by student loan holders during global crises, highlighting the significance of effective policy development for student debt management and borrower support during times of economic uncertainty.