Search results

The exposure of reinforced concrete structures such as high-rise residential buildings, bridges and piers to saline environments, including exposure to de-icing salts, increases their susceptibility to corrosion of the reinforcing steel. The exposure to fire can further deteriorate the structural integrity of corroded concrete structures. This combined effect of corrosion damage and fire exposure is not generally addressed in the structural concrete design codes. The synergistic combination of the effects of corrosion and fire forms the basis of this paper.

Concrete beam specimens with different strengths were prepared, moist-cured and corroded with impressed current. Later, they were “crack-scored” for corrosion evaluation, after which half were exposed to fire in a gas kiln. The fire damage was evaluated by nondestructive testing using ultrasonic pulse velocity. Next, all specimens were tested for residual flexural strength. They were then autopsied, and the level of corrosion was determined based on mass loss of the reinforcement.

For corroded specimens, the flexural capacity loss because of fire exposure increases as the compressive strength increases. In general, the higher the crack score, the higher the corresponding mass loss, unless some partial/segmental debonding of the reinforcement occurred. The degree of corrosion increases with decreasing compressive strength. The residual moment capacity, based on analytically determined capacities of uncorroded and nonfire-exposed beams, was significantly lower than those of uncorroded beams exposed to fire.

The combined effects of corrosion and fire on the mechanical properties of structural concrete are relatively unknown, and no guidance is available in the existing design codes to address this issue. Accordingly, the findings of the paper are expected to be valuable to both researchers and design engineers and can be regarded as the initial investigation on this topic.

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of cloud accounting (CA) in Oman’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The research model is developed based on relationships between technology, organisational and environmental contexts.

This study used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of SMEs in Oman’s information and communication sector. In total, 300 enterprises were selected, and the questionnaire was distributed to the executives. The questionnaires valid for analysis were 159. The collected data were analysed using structural equation modelling through analysis of a moment structures software.

This study tested seven factors, namely, support from top management, firm size, infrastructure (technology readiness), security and privacy, compatibility, competitive pressure and relative advantage. The results revealed that compatibility has a significant impact on the adoption of CA.

This study suggests the mangers in SMEs should play a more decisive role in identification of technological, organisational and environmental factors that affect the success of implementing CA in a comprehensive model.

This study constitutes a management strategy that helps the enterprises in light of limited economic resources and concerns about the use of cloud services to make the appropriate decision in adopting CA.

Outlines the massive loan default problems faced by the Bangladesh banking industry and discusses the importance of consistent and adequate public policy in reducing them. Critically reviews the government’s industrial, fiscal, monetary and tariff policies since independence in 1971, referring to relevant research; and relates them to the loan repayment performance of industrial borrowers. Castigates its excessive bureaucratic controls, lack of co‐ordination or consistency and over‐supply of credit; and its failure to recognize entrepreneurs’ general lack of experience. Puts at least part of the blame for industrial loan defaults down to “flawed” policies.

This study aims to undertake a comprehensive examination of heat transfer by convection in porous systems with top and bottom walls insulated and differently heated vertical walls under a magnetic field. For a specific nanofluid, the study aims to bring out the effects of different segmental heating arrangements.

An existing in-house code based on the finite volume method has provided the numerical solution of the coupled nondimensional transport equations. Following a validation study, different explorations include the variations of Darcy–Rayleigh number (Ra_m = 10–10⁴), Darcy number (Da = 10^–5–10^–1) segmented arrangements of heaters of identical total length, porosity index (ε = 0.1–1) and aspect ratio of the cavity (AR = 0.25–2) under Hartmann number (Ha = 10–70) and volume fraction of φ = 0.1% for the nanoparticles. In the analysis, there are major roles of the streamlines, isotherms and heatlines on the vertical mid-plane of the cavity and the profiles of the flow velocity and temperature on the central line of the section.

The finding of a monotonic rise in the heat transfer rate with an increase in Ra_m from 10 to 10⁴ has prompted a further comparison of the rate at Ra_m equal to 10⁴ with the total length of the heaters kept constant in all the cases. With respect to uniform heating of one entire wall, the study reveals a significant advantage of 246% rate enhancement from two equal heater segments placed centrally on opposite walls. This rate has emerged higher by 82% and 249%, respectively, with both the segments placed at the top and one at the bottom and one at the top. An increase in the number of centrally arranged heaters on each wall from one to five has yielded 286% rate enhancement. Changes in the ratio of the cavity height-to-length from 1.0 to 0.2 and 2 cause the rate to decrease by 50% and increase by 21%, respectively.

Further research with additional parameters, geometries and configurations will consolidate the understanding. Experimental validation can complement the numerical simulations presented in this study.

This research contributes to the field by integrating segmented heating, magnetic fields and hybrid nanofluid in a porous flow domain, addressing existing research gaps. The findings provide valuable insights for enhancing thermal performance, and controlling heat transfer locally, and have implications for medical treatments, thermal management systems and related fields. The research opens up new possibilities for precise thermal management and offers directions for future investigations.

This study investigates the impact of corporate governance on FinTech disclosure levels in Jordanian conventional and Islamic banks. It aims to determine whether governance mechanisms affect disclosure practices in the FinTech sector, exploring the interplay between governance and transparency in financial innovations.

The research methodology entails a thorough analysis of data from all 15 Jordanian conventional and Islamic banks listed on the Amman Stock Exchange, covering the period from 2015 to 2022. This study uses manual content analysis using a custom FinTech Disclosure Index (FDI) and quantitative analysis with a two-way clustered error regression model.

The findings show that corporate governance mechanisms, particularly board size, board meetings and “Big4” audit firms, are crucial in enhancing FinTech disclosure across conventional and Islamic banks. However, Islamic banks consistently show higher disclosure levels than their conventional counterparts, attributed to their distinct governance structures that emphasize ethical governance and transparency. These results indicate an awareness among decision-makers about the importance of business model transformation toward FinTech.

This study pioneers the introduction of FDI, using it for a novel comparative analysis of FinTech disclosure levels between Islamic and conventional banks. By exploring how various governance structures influence FinTech disclosure, this research provides fresh insights into the interplay between corporate governance and financial technologies in the banking sector.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of family ownership on firm performance. In particular the authors investigate whether family firms outperform non-family firms and whether first generation family firms perform better than second generation family firms in an emerging economy using Bangladesh as a case.

This study uses a data set of 141 listed Bangladeshi non-financial companies for the period 2005-2009. The methodology is based on multivariate regression analysis.

The result shows that family firms perform better than their non-family counterparts. The authors also find that family ownership has a positive impact on firm performance. The analysis further reveals intergenerational differences where family firms and performance are associated positively only when founder members act as CEOs or chairmen. However, when descendents serve as CEOs or chairmen family firms are associated with poorer firm performance.

The authors extend the findings of previous studies that investigate the family ownership and firm performance relationship in developed economy settings, but neglected emerging economies. The study also informs the literature about the intergenerational impact of family firms on performance in an emerging market.

This paper aims to provide a novel approach to examine sustainability report narratives by considering key features of these narratives including, forward-looking content, risk content, tone and sustainability-specific content.

Using a sample of UK firms' sustainability reports from 2014 to 2018, the authors capture the report content by compiling a collection of words using a computational linguistic technique that attempts to identify specific attributes of sustainability reports.

The findings show the main factors that determine the content of sustainability reports are: (1) external governance-related factors, including the voluntary adoption of sustainability reporting assurance, the choice of assurance provider, stakeholder engagement and ownership concentration; (2) internal governance factors, including board quality and the existence of a sustainability committee; and (3) reporting behaviour including the publication of standardised Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reports and financial reporting quality.

The authors limit our sample to companies operated in the UK. Future research can explore the results in other institutional contexts such as North America or Asia–Pacific where the governance of sustainability reporting and other factors determining the content of sustainability reports could be different. Also, it would be interesting to interview managers and other stakeholders to obtain their opinions with regard to sustainability reporting and assurance practices and to understand their opinions regarding the GRI guidelines and its appropriateness. This study combines different research streams to advance our understanding of sustainability disclosures and factors that determine sustainability narratives.

Corporate managers need to strengthen their internal and external governance mechanisms to enhance the comprehensiveness and credibility of sustainability reports and are encouraged to engage stakeholders in the sustainability reporting process. Policymakers can mandate the assurance of sustainability reports and establish reporting formats and standard words to control the tone of sustainability reports. Finally, researchers, professionals as well as policymakers need to monitor sustainable development goals and targets to increase awareness, knowledge and practices that can be operationalised to ensure a global society that can afford sustainable living.

To the best of our knowledge, no study has yet examined sustainability report narratives by considering key features of these reports, including forward-looking content, risk content, tone and sustainability-specific content.