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The main purpose of this study was to prepare the cotton fibers and cellulose powder by a layer of nano-crystalline-titanium dioxide (TiO₂) using the sol-gel sono-synthesis method to clean the wastewater containing reactive dye. Moreover, TiO₂ nano-materials are remarkable due to their photoactive properties and valuable applications in wastewater treatment.

In this research, TiO₂ was synthesized and deposited effectively on cotton fibers and cellulose powder using ultrasound-assisted coating. Further, tetra butyl titanate was used as a precursor to the synthesis of TiO₂ nanoparticles. Reactive dye (red 195) was used in this study. X-ray Diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were performed to prove the aptitude for the formation of crystal TiO2 on the cotton fibers and cellulose powder along with TiO₂ nanoparticles as well as to analyze the chemical structure. Decoloration of the wastewater was investigated through ultraviolet (UV-Visible) light at 30 min.

The experimental results revealed that the decolorization was completed at 2.0 min with the cellulose nano TiO₂ treatment whereas cotton nano TiO₂ treated solution contained reactive dyestuffs even after the treatment of 2 min. This was the fastest method up to now than all reported methods for sustainable decolorization of wastewater by absorption. Furthermore, this study explored that the cellulose TiO₂ nano-composite was more effective than the cotton TiO₂ nano-composite of decoloration wastewater for the eco-friendly remedy.

Cotton fibers and cellulose powder with nano-TiO₂, and only reactive dye (red 195) were tested.

With reactive dye-containing wastewater, it seems to be easier to get rid of the dye than to retain it, especially from dyeing of yarn, fabric, apparel, and as well as other sectors where dyestuffs are used.

This research would help to reduce pollution in the environment as well as save energy and cost.

Decoloration of wastewater treatment is an essential new track with nano-crystalline TiO2 to fast and efficient cleaning of reactive dyes containing wastewater used as a raw material.

The purpose of this chapter is to critically examine the leaders of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in Pakistan through a social entrepreneurship lens. The literature on social entrepreneurship was analysed to identify traits academics say social entrepreneurs have. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary sources of information were interviews with leaders’ former colleagues. Secondary research was conducted using grey literature, independent reports, web searches and the implementation of partners’ websites. The main finding from our analysis is that social entrepreneurship is an important driver of success in PPPs. All three PPPs had a focal person who exhibited important qualities found in social entrepreneurs and in one case, the decline of a partnership was observed shortly after the resignation of the social entrepreneur. Governments seeking to enter into partnerships with private organizations should prioritize finding social entrepreneurship in the partnering organization’s culture and/or leadership. Social welfare organizations are more likely to succeed if their management includes social entrepreneurs.

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has caught many educational institutions by surprise and warranted an abrupt migration from offline to online learning. This has resulted in an education change, without any time for due consideration, as regards its impact on musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) on students. The purpose of this study is to investigate MSD related to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate students in India. In total, 261 students participated in this online survey.

The study finds that around 80% of students have reported some symptom in the head, neck and eyes since they started online learning. In total, 58% have reported MSD symptom in the right shoulder and 56% in the right hand fingers. Besides, more than 40 % of students experienced some MSD symptoms, in almost all the body parts studied, due to online learning. Correlation analysis is conducted between time spent on online learning per day and MSD symptoms.

This is the first study conducted on MSD and online learning during COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the effects of knowledge management (KM) enablers on KM processes in research universities and testing the direct relation between KM processes and OP. This study also proposes to examine the mediating role of intellectual capital (IC) and innovation in the relationship between KM processes and performance of universities.

Using a sample of 217 academic and administrative personnel from research universities of Pakistan, the hypothesized relationships were tested through partial least squares structural equation modeling technique.

The results reveal that KM enablers have a significant impact on KM processes. The results also indicate that KM processes influence organizational performance (OP) directly and indirectly through innovation and IC.

Findings of this study reinforce the corporate experience of KM and suggest how administrators of research universities and higher educational institutions can promote innovation and IC, which in turn enhance OP.

Despite the augmented importance of KM in higher education institutions or research universities, there is a dearth of studies that investigate the interplay of KM, innovation, IC and OP. This is one of the earliest studies that not only empirically investigate the interaction of KM enablers, KM processes and performance of research universities but also shed insights into the existing literature by simultaneously investigating mediating role of IC and innovation in the underlying relationship.

This paper aims to investigate whether there is any change in corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in Pakistani companies after the introduction of CSR voluntary guidelines in 2013 by Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and determine the effect of corporate governance (CG) elements on CSR disclosure.

Content analysis was applied to measure CSR disclosure from annual and sustainability reports of 50 companies from eight different sectors from 2010 to 2014. Paired-samples t-test was applied to examine the difference in CSR disclosure. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between CG elements and CSR disclosure.

Paired-samples t-test shows an increase in the extent of CSR disclosure after the introduction of CSR voluntary guidelines in 2013. The one-way ANOVA test reveals that the extent of CSR disclosure is different across various sectors. Multiple regression results prove that independent directors, women directors and board size positively affect the extent of CSR disclosure.

SECP should enforce medium-sized firms to start producing CSR reports. Voluntary guidelines of 2013 moderately improved CSR reporting. Therefore, enforcement of the SECP rule of independent directors may enhance the extent of CSR disclosure.

This study is the first to examine the effect of CSR voluntary guidelines issued by SECP in 2013 and CG elements on CSR disclosure in Pakistan.

Drawing on social exchange theory (SET) and proactive motivation model, this study aims to examine the relationship between workplace dignity and employees’ tacit knowledge sharing (TKS) and assess the mediating role of psychological safety and organizational identification in this relationship.

Data are collected in the three waves from 307 first-line supervisors and professionals of high- and medium-high-tech manufacturing organizations of Pakistan. Partial least squares structural equation modelling technique is applied using SmartPLS 4 software to test hypothesized relationships.

Results reveal that workplace dignity is directly and positively related to TKS and psychological safety and organizational identification mediate this relationship.

This study highlights the importance of workplace dignity as a vital determinant of TKS. Findings of this research underscore the need for enactment of humanistic and employee-oriented organizational policies and practices that signal workplace dignity which can result in increased psychological safety and enhanced organizational identification leading towards higher TKS.

This research proffers novel understanding of the nexus between an embryonic socio-emotional element of workplace context, namely, workplace dignity and TKS. This study not only advances knowledge management literature from dignity perspective but also contributes to SET and proactive motivation model.

In the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, organizations now are expected to serve customers who are highly conscious of safety and sanitation. Among others, the hospitality industry is significantly and negatively influenced by this pandemic. Given the unique characteristics of services, using advanced technology is not enough to create a memorable experience without physical interaction between service providers and customers. Thus, this study aims to define the “new normal” for service customers and to explore the “new service design” for the hotel industry.

As most of the Southeast Asian countries heavily rely on the tourism industry, this study focuses on one of the emerging tourism destinations in this region, Malaysia. The data is collected through in-depth interviews with 17 potential national and international tourists.

The results suggest that considering the “new normal” for customers, there is an immediate need for the hotel industry to revamp their service design by mainly practicing disinfection and sanitation activities, re-designing overall infrastructure and introducing promotional offers.

This study is novel in its kind as it provides useful guidelines for both practitioners and academicians/researchers. Under this crucial time, very few research is conducted specifically focusing on the hotel industry and tourists’ behaviors amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will provide in-depth knowledge about tourists’ expectations from the hotel services, especially in their own voices.

The main purpose of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) sustainability case is to allow students to explore how nonfinancial information reported in sustainability plays a vital role in maintaining a trade-off between current economic pressure and future environmental needs.

This is an exploratory study in nature using a qualitative case study approach. The case requires an examination of DEWA's sustainability reporting (SR) in the context of Global Reporting Initiatives (GRIs). This case is designed to assist students in gauging DEWA's sustainability and explore how the company evaluates the materiality of sustainability issues.

With stakeholders' and investors' increased interest in sustainability, the authors argue that accounting programs should incorporate this topic into their curricula. The case enables students to focus on sustainability-related initiatives with DEWA that are aligned with GRI initiatives. The case might be instructive for both undergraduate and postgraduate students studying environmental and management accounting.

This case study is the first of its kind in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region to comprehensively analyze DEWA's sustainability practices concerning GRI-based SR. This study widens the understanding of DEWA's implementation of GRI standards in the preparation of its sustainability reports.

It is widely evident that trust and commitment are important pillars for strengthening the relationship between financial service firms and their customers. However, it has not been explored how the service quality, perceived cost and role of agents are important for financial service firms. To overcome this gap, this study aims to investigate the role of service quality, perceived cost and the role of agents as the commitment–trust factors in the financial insurance service (Takaful) in Malaysia, enhancing customer satisfaction.

The study follows a quantitative design in which primary data was collected using a survey instrument. The measurement instrument was adapted from the previous research, and data were collected from 264 customers of the Takaful financial service organizations in Malaysia. The data were analyzed using variance-based structural equational modeling in Smart-PLS software.

This research has revealed several useful insights that demonstrate a significant impact on service quality, perceived cost and the agents’ role in forging close relationships with their customers. Corporate image has a moderating role in relationships and has significantly impacted takaful insurance companies. The results imply that regardless of the corporate image of the financial service organizations, customers are concerned about the prices and the quality of the agents’ services.

In this study, only the predictors such as service quality, perceived costs and agents’ roles as trust–commitment factors were examined to determine customer satisfaction. Other investigations are highly recommended, such as value co-creation in takaful, takaful customer experience and takaful trust. This study offers insights to takaful insurance companies on how to keep up a positive corporate image, which will boost their trust–commitment factors and ultimately increase customer satisfaction.

By presenting commitment–trust factors and company image in an identifiable framework, the current study has expanded the discussion on takaful financial insurance services. The methodology is developed and rigorously tested to gauge customer satisfaction in takaful financial service organizations’ context.

As a result, the current study attempted to investigate the impact of green human resource (GHR) practices on long-term performance, and the path has been explained through organizational identification, which is supported by social identity theory.

To achieve the present study's primary goal, data were obtained from manufacturing businesses and analyzed using partial least square (Smart PLS) on the data of 284 Pakistani small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered with the small and medium-sized enterprises development authority (SMEDA).

As a result, the findings show that organizational identification explains the indirect relationship between sustainable performance and green human resource management (GHRM).

To limit the limited negative effect on the environment and society, the findings provide several suggestions for the government authorities and policymakers to adopt green practices and policies.

Green practices are essential for a company to limit its negative environmental effect. Environmental critical problems among shareholders put pressure on the firm to implement GHR practices and organizational identification with long-term success.