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In the vast majority of published papers, the optimal allocation of photovoltaic distributed generation (PVDG) units and reconfiguration problems are proposed along with the number of PVDG used in the simulation. However, optimisation without selecting the number of PVDG units installed in the distribution grid is insufficient to achieve a better operational performance of power systems. Moreover, multi-objective installation of PVDG units and reconfiguration aims to simultaneously relieve congestion problems, improve voltage profile and minimise the active and reactive power losses. Therefore, this paper aims to propose a new modified camel algorithm (NMCA) to solve multi-objective problems considering radial distribution system to achieve secure and stable operation of electric power system with good performance.

In this paper, the decision variables include the location and size of PVDG units with specific rang to determine the number of PVDG units needed to install and open network lines determined using NMCA based on the L_∞ technique. This also satisfies the operating and radial constraints. Furthermore, a benchmark comparison with different well known optimisation algorithms has been made to confirm the solutions. Finally, an analysis of the findings was conducted, and the feasibility of solutions was fully verified and discussed.

Two test systems – the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 33-bus and IEEE 69-bus, were used to examine the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The findings obtained amply proved the efficiency and superiority of the NMCA algorithm over the other different optimisation algorithms.

The proposed approach is applied to solve the installation PVDG unit’s problem and reconfiguration problem in the radial distribution system, satisfying the operating and radial constraints. Also, it minimises active and reactive power losses and improves voltage profile.

In this chapter, the relations between Muslim migrant women's bodily appearances at Western workplaces, their work choices and career development are examined through the lens of embodied intersectionality. This chapter draws on exiting research reports and empirical research to also reflect on the scope of Muslim female migrants' labour market integration in the United Kingdom.

For Muslim women, wearing ethnic or religious dresses such as headscarf/‘hijab’, ‘niqaab’ or ‘burqa’ represents the quintessential identity of women belonging to their particular ethnic group or religion. These highly visible social and cultural markers are also inherently gendered. This chapter delves into understanding how Muslim migrant women wearing ethnic/religious dresses experience/encounter Western workplaces and how their embodied intersectional identities through creating barriers at the workplaces impede the process of their labour market integration, in turn, limit their work choices and further restrict their career progression/development in the long run. The discussion also shows that attention to the Muslim migrant women's workplace experiences funnelled through the process of embodied intersectionality can expose the overall racialised and gendered practices of the society, different forms of social exclusion while simultaneously indicate resistance from and agency of these Muslim women through bodily appearances in transnational contexts. This chapter also sheds lights on how these women's career and workplace experiences need to be understood outside the stereotypical Western description of gendered workplaces and how the discussion needs to be broadened in scope and encompass the spatial dynamics of migration, religion, gender and ethnicity to be able to make sense of Muslim migrant women's work choices and career in the West.

This chapter has a twofold structure – first, it looks at the relationship between self-regulating agency and voice and understanding of the embodiment of intersectional identities by the women themselves in the host country's society and labour market, and, second, how the changing time, space and contexts interact to play a role in terms of the host society and its labour market's acceptance and level of tolerance shown towards this group's embodied intersectional presence.

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a pilot study conducted in Pakistan, about the barriers perceived by users and non‐users of Islamic banking when selecting Islamic banks.

This study was conducted to include two types of banking customers, users (customers of Islamic banks only and, Islamic and conventional banks both) and non‐users (customers of conventional banks only). The qualitative research included in‐depth interviews with managers of Islamic banks and two focus groups with users and non‐users, respectively. The survey questionnaire that was subsequently designed received 109 responses. The analysis includes hypothesis testing, factor analysis, and cluster analysis.

A narrow branch network, inconvenient branch locations and perception that “Islamic banks do not completely follow Islamic principles” acted as barriers for non‐users when selecting Islamic banks. Further, “a religious ruling against Islamic banks” was not considered an important barrier when selecting Islamic banks.

This research outlines an alternative methodology of looking at bank selection criteria, by measuring the other side of the coin, i.e. the barriers perceived by users and non‐users of Islamic banking when selecting Islamic banks. Compared to the prevailing literature on the subject, such an approach is enlightening and can have enormous potential as it directly measures the perceived barriers towards Islamic banking. Furthermore, this pilot study is also an important contribution to the limited literature on consumer attitudes towards Islamic banking in Pakistan, where the operations of Islamic banks are still in their formative stage.

Teacher Education has been transforming throughout the world to cater to the emerging needs of quality education. Significant developments have taken place nationally and internationally in political, economic, and cultural fields, influencing education in general and teacher education in particular. The quality of education depends to a great extent on the quality of teachers. And, the quality of teachers depends on the way they are educated and trained. Pakistan has a vast education sector and a huge teaching force but teacher education in the country has not been keeping pace with modernization and development globally. Teacher education curricula, dissemination, evaluation and implementation revolved around traditional models for decades. However, there has been a growing realization to reform the teacher education system lately. The education policy (2009) of Pakistan indicates such realization on the part of the stakeholders. This chapter reports on an important teacher education reform program, which is based on collaboration between the government of Pakistan and the USAID. The Teacher Education Project (TEP), assisted by USAID, is a reform initiative that aimed at restructuring and modernizing teacher education in Pakistan. This chapter aims to provide insights into the objectives, importance and achievements of the project in terms of shaping the future direction of teacher education in Pakistan. It reports on the substantial structural and policy changes that took place in teacher education under the project. This chapter also highlights the possible challenges in the way of useful implementation and sustainability of this and similar education reform initiatives in Pakistan.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of human capital (HC), intellectual property rights (IPRs) and research and development (R&D) expenditures on total factor productivity (TFP), which leads to economic growth.

The panel data technique is used on a sample of 16 countries categorized into two groups, namely Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and, in order to make a comparison for the time period of 2007–2015, the researchers used a fixed effect model as an estimation method for regression.

The results indicate that HC, IPRs and R&D expenditures appear to be statistically significant and are strong factors in determining changes in TFP and exhibit positive results in all sample sets. Moreover, IPRs alone do not accelerate growth in an economy, especially taking the case of emerging nations.

Considering the importance of CEE and BRIC countries, and inadequate research on these regions with respect to current study’s variables and techniques, the present research provides valuable insights about the importance of HC, IPR and R&D activities and their impact on TFP, which leads to economic growth. IPRs create a fertile environment for R&D activities, knowledge creation and economic development. Distinct nations can attain better economic status via HC, R&D activities, innovation, trade and FDI, although the relative significance of these channels is likely to differ across countries depending on their developmental levels.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the managers’ views on the characteristics which university graduates should have to obtain the job and efficiently perform in Chinese industrial organizations, and how are they performing in the industry.

Mix-method approach was followed to identify the key employability attributes, employers’ expectations and students’ performance. Analysis of interviews and literature provided the foundation for the development of the employability instrument used. In total, 11 identified attributes were grouped into four dimensions, i.e. knowledge, skills, abilities and professional attitude. Structural analysis was performed to test the hypotheses and theoretical model. The importance of the identified attributes was checked via the ranking technique, followed by an evaluation of students’ actual performance and a comparison between them.

Empirical analyses indicate that the managers in China consider “skills” as the most important dimension for employability in Chinese industrial organizations and “reliability” is the highly demanded subsequent factor. A significant gap has been found in all studied dimensions and 10 out of 11 sub-factors.

This study not only identifies key employability attributes, but also proposes and validates an instrument for measuring students’ industrial performance. It also highlights the factors where industry and academia should focus to improve graduates’ employability and their industrial performance.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are responsible for training and transforming the students into valuable resources. Although students are believed to be the principal stakeholders in HEIs, limited research studies are available on service quality (SQ) in HEIs from students’ perspectives. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the factors, which constitute SQ in HEIs, specifically from students’ perspective, as existing literature on this topic is either from management and general perspective or is time dated.

The current study contributes by reviewing qualitative responses received through interviews and focus groups session with 43 students from 3 Turkey-based private HEIs. Data was collected from 43 students through 26 individual interviews and 3 focus group sessions and was analyzed through deductive reasoning using narrative and framework analysis with open coding.

The analysis of data indicated six main themes, specifically: teaching quality, facilities, support staff quality, employability links, safety and security and extra-curricular activities as indicators of SQ from students’ perspective. The findings of the study strongly comply with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and take steps by identifying employability and safety and security as new emerging indicators of the existing literature of SQ in HEIs.

The existing literature lacks to provide qualitative data on SQ in HEIs from students’ perspectives in Asian countries, particularly, in Turkey, the place of current research. The findings of the present research provide valuable insights to HEIs’ management to understand students’ perceptions of SQ, their expectations and experiences.

The purpose of this study is to determine the best vaned diffuser design that can generate higher pressure output at a predetermined speed.

Several vaned diffusers of thin, flat-type design with different number of blades and blade angle were fabricated. The vaned diffusers were fitted inside the turbocharger compressor and test on a cold-flow turbocharger test rig. A Taguchi L₂₇ orthogonal array is selected for analysis of the data. Influence of number of blades, blade angle and rotational speed on output pressure is studied using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique. Finally, confirmation tests are conducted to validate the experimental results.

The optimum design parameters of the vaned diffuser using signal-to-noise ratio analysis were six blades type, blade angle of 18° and rotational speed of 70,000 rpm. Results from ANOVA showed that the speed has the highest influence on output pressure. The number of blades and blade angle produced the least effect on the pressure output.

The study used the turbocharger with the impeller size 60 mm and adapted vaned diffuser to increase the output pressure.

The current study probes the multi-dimensional link between total quality management (TQM) and knowledge management (KM) and investigates how different TQM's dimensions impacts KM processes and how this nexus impacts organizational performance (operational and financial performance) by considering KM as an intermediating variable between TQM and organizational performance.

Six TQM practices are taken from “Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award”, namely leadership, customer focus, strategic planning, human resource management, process management and information and analysis; KM processes include knowledge creation, acquisition, sharing and application and organizational performance comprises operational and financial performance. The researcher put together data from different sized services and manufacturing firms, from small, to medium and large firms located in the United Kingdom (UK).

The results suggested that a positive correlation existed between TQM, KM and organizational performance. KM is also shown to have quite a strong and positive influence on firm operational and financial performance and partially mediates the relationship between TQM and corporate performance. Dimensional analysis indicates that leadership, strategic planning, customer focus and HRM have a significant positive impact on all KM process, while mixed results have been found for process management and information and analysis. The contextual analysis indicates that except for knowledge creation, TQM plays an equally significant role for the majority of manufacturing establishments and services firms.

The present research makes a significant contribution to the scarce literature on the relationship between TQM and KM (mainly at dimensional level), particularly in the context of the UK, and provides a detailed understanding of the relations between different TQM and KM dimensions, and how their relationship impacts on the operational and financial performance of different sizes of manufacturing and services firms.

Highlights

1. Total quality management (TQM) enhances firms' knowledge management (KM) capabilities

2. KM partially mediates the relationship between TQM and firms' performance

3. Leadership, customer focus and process management indicated insignificant impact on knowledge creation

4. TQM and KM are equally important for all sizes manufacturing and services firms

Total quality management (TQM) enhances firms' knowledge management (KM) capabilities

KM partially mediates the relationship between TQM and firms' performance

Leadership, customer focus and process management indicated insignificant impact on knowledge creation

TQM and KM are equally important for all sizes manufacturing and services firms