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In the textile dyeing industry, the foam dyeing has been recognized as a significantly sustainable alternative for the cotton fabrics. However, this efficient technology undergoes the many issues related to the foam generation, foam optimization and the required performance of the resultant fabrics. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues through the development and optimization of the novel reactive foam dyeing recipes for the cotton fabrics.

The foam dyeing recipes were generated and optimized using the different stabilizers, foaming agents and three primary colors of reactive dyes. The different recipes were applied onto the cotton fabric using laboratory scale foam coating machine. The performance of the foam coated and padded fabrics was evaluated using different criteria including the shade depth, rubbing fastness, air permeability, washing fastness, perspiration fastness, light fastness and tear strength. Then, a complex decision-making approach, namely, analytic hierarchy process (AHP), was applied for the ranking of the key recipes based on the main criteria.

The newly optimized foam dyeing recipes were found very competitive with the conventional pad dyeing process with respect to the shade-depth and the other performance properties. The optimization of foaming parameters and addition of stabilizers have advanced the foam dyeing process, which would accelerate the implementation of foam dyeing methods in the textile industry. Furthermore, significant water and energy savings would be achieved as compared to the conventional foam dyeing. AHP model offered a comprehensive and rational way to identify the most important recipes amongst the selected recipes.

In this research, novel foam dyeing recipes have been developed for the cotton fabrics through the optimization of the different stabilizers, foaming agents and the three primary colors of reactive dyes. Until now, the exiting literature has not reported the combination of these stabilizers with the different foaming agents and three primary reactive dyes for the improvement of sustainable foam cotton dyeing process.

The study investigates the nature of an understudied yet salient relationship between perceived overqualification (POQ) and work alienation in project management. It employs relative deprivation theory to propose two dimensions of the psychological contract, i.e. relational and transactional, as underlying mediating mechanisms and how empowering leadership mitigates the adverse effects of POQ.

To this end, in two waves, we surveyed 232 project members of three public-sector information and communication technologies (ICT) projects in Punjab, Pakistan. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).

The key findings are: (1) POQ leads to work alienation, (2) relational and transactional contracts mediate this relationship, and (3) empowering leadership can mitigate the adverse effects of POQ in project management settings.

This research adds valuable insights to the scant POQ literature in public-sector project management settings. It also contributes by identifying the mediating role of relational and transactional psychological contracts and the moderating role of empowering leadership to mitigate the adverse effects of POQ in these settings.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the short and the long run wheat demand elasticities in Pakistan.

Using cointegration and vector error correction model (VECM) techniques, the main objective of the study has been achieved.

The estimated long run and the short run elasticities suggest that income is the most significant determinant of wheat consumption in the long run while price of wheat is the major affecting factor of wheat consumption only in the short run.

The estimated demand elasticites may be used for framing any future food security policy in Pakistan. The less elastic nature of wheat demand both in the short and the long run suggests that under the likely Doha Round agricultural trade liberalization, wheat price rise will harm the poor consumers.

Wheat demand elasticities are estimated within the framework of cointegration and VECM to differentiate short run and long run elasticities in Pakistan.

The purpose of this study is to examine the contributing factors that affect consumer behaviour of Islamic home financing in Malaysia. The effects of perceived religiosity on property, perceived Islamic debt principle and perceived maqasid on homeownership on consumer behaviour are examined. Furthermore, the effects of perceived religiosity and consumer behaviour on religious satisfaction are also investigated.

Using the theory of Islamic consumer behaviour (TiCB) as a baseline theory identified from the literature, this study proposes a conceptual model of consumer behaviour of Islamic home financing in Malaysia. Data from the 205 usable questionnaires are analysed using partial least squares (PLS).

The PLS results suggest that perceived religiosity on property, perceived Islamic debt principle and perceived maqasid on homeownership are instrumental in determining consumer behaviour, thus revealing these factors as “Islamic factors” that represent the TiCB. Furthermore, the effect of consumer behaviour on religious satisfaction is also significant, implying that good behaviour makes people happier – seeking pleasure for doing well that is blessed and approved by Allah (S.W.T).

Two limitations are available for future studies. First, this study included only Malaysians in East Malaysia, suggesting that further testing of the proposed model should be conducted across different geographies to determine the generalisability of this study’s findings. Second, this study’s contributions are narrowed down to the factors examined. These limitations, however, provide directions for further future research.

The results provide directions to bank managers to effectively manage Islamic home financing services for the benefit of their customers. Islamic home financing products tend to be used by consumers if the patronage factors investigated are considered more profoundly.

This study examines the behaviour of consumers of Islamic home financing using the proposed framework derived from TiCB.

Pakistan's present war against extremists has many folds and sheds. The country's initial participation in the Afghan War in 1979 later gave birth to different extremist trends in the country. State patronage of the extremist Wahabi Islamists during the Afghan jihad opened another conflict in Pakistan, and things became more complicated. The combination of external and internal factors gave birth to the worst kind of conflict, which now has not only become dangerous for the country's own existence but also a major threat for global peace. The Afghan jihad initially started as a war against Soviet occupation and later became the hub of global jihad-war against infidels.

This chapter analyzes how external factors promoted internal contradictions in Pakistan due to which the country became not only an exporter of jihadis for the world but also the worst kind of sectarian conflicts, including. Shia–Sunni, Deobandi–Wahabi clashes, entered into in the past two decades. Such a strong link exists with Pakistan's official support to global jihad. Draft sectarian groups now head to head with their opponents have killed thousands of members of rival sectors, have strong support from external sympathizers, and have spread in the country. The well planned terrorist activities of these groups reflect the fact that support to these groups in the past is now leading to a severe crisis in Pakistan. The nexuses of these indigenous extremists like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen with external terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan of Tahir Yuldasher Chechen Guerilla War has led to several bloody clashes in the country and outside.

Work overload implies that there are excessive work demands that cannot be adequately fulfilled within the given deadlines. This research examines the effect of work overload on career outcomes, i.e. career satisfaction and occupational commitment through the mediating role of work frustration.

The data were collected from employees working in the schools of Punjab, Pakistan in three waves. Out of the total, 248 valid responses were analyzed by PROCESS model 4 using SPSS 24.

Based on affective event theory (AET) the results demonstrated that negative workplace events such as work overload create negative emotions like frustration at work and cause poor job outcomes (i.e. low satisfaction and commitment).

However, the outcomes should be interpreted in the light of single sector and time-lagged data tested on the mediation-only model.

The current study has implications for workload management in school staff to retain their career satisfaction and commitment.

This study has implications for society by offering to enhance the career outcomes of school staff that are prime institutions for socio-economic development.

This is one of the initial research studies that have examined the career-related outcomes of work overload based on AET via the mediating role of work frustration.

The study highlights our findings, including the confirmation of phase stability through XRD analysis, the characterization of optical properties revealing high absorption and conductivity and the analysis of mechanical stability through elastic constants. Additionally, we present detailed results on the band gap, EELS analysis and the suitability of SrZrO3 perovskite oxides for next-generation optoelectronic devices.

Cubic SrZrO₃ perovskite oxides were designed within the framework of density functional theory (DFT) via the CASTEP code under varying stress conditions (0–100 GPa), aiming to explore the key properties for diverse applications. The phase stability was confirmed by XRD analysis. From 0 to 40 GPa, there is an increase in the band gap from 3.330 to 3.615 eV, while it narrows from 3.493 to 3.155 eV beyond 60 GPa. The optical characteristics revealed high absorption, superior conductivity and a lower loss function. Significantly, the elastic constants (C₁₁, C₁₂ and C₄₄) satisfy the Born-stability criterion, ensuring the mechanical stability of the compound. Additionally, the Poisson’s ratio, Pugh ratio (B/G), Frantsevich ratio, Cauchy pressure (P_C) and anisotropy factor ensured both ductile and anisotropic characteristics. Higher values of Young’s modulus and shear modulus signify a superior ability to withstand longitudinal stresses. In the EELS analysis, distinctive energy-loss peaks resulting from absorption and emission correlated with diverse electronic transitions and energy levels associated with Sr, Zr and O atoms are used to probe the precise exploration of the electronic and optical characteristics of materials with a high degree of accuracy. Based on these findings, the designed SrZrO₃ perovskite oxides are particularly suitable for applications in various optoelectronic devices.

CASTEP codes were utilized to design the cubic SrZrO₃ perovskite under varying stress conditions ranging from 0 to 100 GPa. The phase stability was confirmed through XRD analysis. A distinctive trend in the band gap was observed: an increase from 3.330 eV to 3.615 eV as the stress increased from 0 to 40 GPa and a decrease from 3.493 to 3.155 above 60 GPa. A higher absorption and conductivity and a lower loss function were found for the optical properties. The mechanical stability was ensured by elastic constants (C₁₁, C₁₂, and C₄₄) satisfying the Born-stability criteria. Additionally, the Poisson’s ratio, Pugh’s ratio (B/G), Frantsevich ratio, Cauchy pressure (P_C) and anisotropy factor were used to verify the ductility and anisotropy of the materials. Higher values of Young’s modulus and shear modulus indicate a superior ability to withstand longitudinal stresses. EELS analysis revealed distinctive energy-loss peaks associated with Sr, Zr and O atoms, enabling precise exploration of the electronic and optical characteristics with a high degree of accuracy. As expected, the designed SrZrO₃ perovskite oxides exhibit favorable properties, making them particularly suitable for next-generation optoelectronic devices.

In this study, we utilized DFT within the CASTEP code framework to investigate the properties of cubic SrZrO₃ perovskite oxides under varying stress conditions ranging from 0 to 100 GPa. Our research aimed to explore the key properties of SrZrO₃ for diverse applications, particularly in optoelectronic devices.

The success and long-term survival of service organizations depend on employee behavior such as work engagement and creativity. In this study, The authors intend to investigate employee engagement and creativity in the hospitality industry based on the theory of social exchange. In addition, The authors explore the mediating role of employee ambidexterity between ethical leadership and employee work engagement and between ethical leadership and employee creativity.

Through an online survey questionnaire, data were collected from 246 workers in the hospitality industry in Pakistan. Smart-PLS version 3 was used to analyze the data.

The results of the structural equation modeling reveal that ethical leadership has a positive association with work engagement and employee creativity in the hospitality industry. Results further reveal that employee ambidexterity significantly mediates the relationships between ethical leadership and work engagement and between ethical leadership and employee creativity.

This study not only makes an important contribution to the literature on the role of employee ambidexterity in the hospitality industry but will also help service businesses in managing their employees more effectively.

The study analyzes the influence of corporate governance and ownership concentration levels on the cost of equity. Further, the authors extend the literature by investigating the moderating effect of ownership concentration levels (i.e. at 5%, 10% and 20%) on the relationship between corporate governance and the cost of equity.

The study applies several robust panel regression techniques to a sample of 114 active non-financial companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2016. Corporate governance was measured through a unique index comprising 30 governance attributes. The cost of equity was measured through the capital asset pricing model. Further, the authors construct three variables for ownership concentration levels, i.e. at 5%, 10% and 20%. To address the endogeneity problem, the one-lagged variable model and GMM approaches were also applied.

The results indicate that better corporate governance reduces the cost of equity, while ownership concentration at high thresholds would increase the cost of equity. Further, the authors find that ownership concentration at the 20% threshold moderates the relationship between corporate governance and the cost of equity. Thus, the authors argue that firms can minimize the risk faced by shareholders by implementing substantive corporate governance mechanisms. In addition, effective corporate governance mechanisms at high ownership concentration levels are imperative for managing the cost of equity.

The study reports novel evidence that ownership concentration at a high threshold moderates the effect of corporate governance on the cost of equity.

This study has covered many types of solar-powered air-conditioning systems that may be used as an alternative to traditional electrically powered air-conditioning systems in order to reduce energy usage. Solar adsorption air cooling is a great alternative to traditional vapor compression air-conditioning. Solar adsorption has several advantages over traditional vapor-compression systems, including being a green cooling technology which uses solar energy to drive the cycle, using pure water as an eco-friendly HFC-free refrigerant, and being mechanically simple with only the magnetic valves as moving parts. Several advancements and breakthroughs have been developed in the area of solar adsorption air-conditioners during the previous decade. However, further study is required before this technology can be put into practise. As a result, this book chapter highlights current research that adds to the understanding of solar adsorption air-conditioning technologies, with a focus on practical research. These systems have the potential to become the next iteration of air-conditioning systems, with the benefit of lowering energy usage while using plentiful solar energy supplies to supply the cooling demand.