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Pharmacy services start right from prescribing medicines and continue as the medication’s effect is monitored. Hospital and community pharmacy staff promote rational prescribing and medicine use. Consequentially, pharmacy is a complex and busy field. Often there are peak workload hours when patients must wait, which is associated with patient dissatisfaction that may negatively affect patient experience and the organisation’s reputation. The purpose of this paper is to enlist techniques, methods and technological advancements that have been successfully employed to reduce patient waiting time.

A database search was conducted in 2017 to locate articles addressing methods and technologies that reduce pharmacy waiting time. The literature revealed various techniques and technologies like queuing theory, tele-pharmacy, evidence-based pharmacy design, automated pharmacy systems (robotics), system modelling and simulation and the Six Sigma method for identifying potential problems associated with increased wait time.

The authors conclude that various techniques and methods, including automated queuing technology, tele-pharmacy, automated pharmacy devices/machines for quick and accurate filling and dispensing, computer simulation modelling, evidence-based pharmacy infrastructure for smooth workflow and Six Sigma can maintain customer satisfaction, reduce waiting time, attract new customers, decrease workload and improve the organisation’s reputation.

The authors conclude that various techniques and methods, including automated queuing technology, tele-pharmacy, automated pharmacy devices/machines for quick and accurate filling and dispensing, computer simulation modelling, evidence-based pharmacy infrastructure for smooth workflow and Six Sigma methodology can maintain customer satisfaction, reduce waiting time, attract new customers, decrease workload and improve the organisation’s reputation.

The authors carried out a literature search and identified the techniques that have been successfully implemented to reduce pharmacy patient waiting time and methods that can identify potential process behind medication dispensation delays.

Al-Qaeda is conventionally portrayed as a monolithic, hierarchical organization whose activities – coordinated by the network's leader Osama bin Laden – are the source of international terrorism today. Al-Qaeda is considered a radical tendency within the broader Islamist Salafi movement, legitimizing its terrorist operations as a global Islamist jihad against Western civilization. Al-Qaeda's terrorist activity today is considered, “blowback” from long finished CIA and western covert operations in Afghanistan.

The conventional wisdom is demonstrably false. After the Cold War, Western connections with al-Qaeda proliferated around the world, challenging mainstream conceptions of al-Qaeda's identity. Western covert operations and military – intelligence connections in strategic regions show that “al-Qaeda” is a network whose raison d’etre and modus operandi are inextricably embedded in a disturbing conglomerate of international Western diplomatic, financial, military and intelligence policies today. US, British, and Western power routinely manipulates al-Qaeda through a complex network of state-regional and human nodes. Such manipulation extended directly to the 9-11 hijackers, and thus to the events of 9-11 itself.11This paper advances an original argument based partially on research in Ahmed (2005), supplemented here with significant new data and analysis. Also see Ahmed (2002).

The study aims to investigate the relationship between internal knowledge dissemination and employee-based brand equity (EBBE) through the lens of inclusive marketing among university faculty members. The study also examines the role of employee absorptive capacity and brand knowledge as mediators.

A sample of 362 faculty members from Pakistani universities was considered for analysis using a quantitative study design. A questionnaire was used to measure the variables under study, and structural equation modeling was used to examine the direct and indirect relationships.

There exists a positive and significant relationship between internal knowledge dissemination and EBBE among faculty members. Moreover, it is noteworthy to highlight that employee absorptive capacity and brand knowledge play pivotal roles as mediators.

The research findings have significant implications for the universities. Universities can strengthen their EBBE by properly disseminating knowledge among faculty members, which in turn fosters a sense of belongingness toward them. By improving the absorptive capacity of faculty members, universities can better prepare them to contribute successfully to the university’s brand and image. Developing brand knowledge among faculty members can help in fostering a unified and coherent brand image that deeply resonates with stakeholders such as colleagues, students and the academic community as a whole. Furthermore, promoting an inclusive culture within the organization will emphasize diversity and equity in internal knowledge dissemination practices, thereby further enhancing EBBE.

This study contributes to the prevailing knowledge-base by exploring the role of internal knowledge dissemination in developing EBBE among university faculty members. The research not only enriches the understanding of brand management in universities but also provides practical guidelines for the expansion of effective branding initiatives. Moreover, this study adds value by examining the association between internal knowledge dissemination and EBBE from the perspective of inclusive marketing strategies. It highlights the significance of encouraging a culture of diversity, inclusion and equity within organizations, leading toward significant outcomes in terms of enhanced brand equity among employees.

This empirical research draws on the existing theory of transformational leadership, adaptive culture and organizational resilience, and investigates the effect of the elected TQM leadership style “transformational leadership” through the mediating effect of adaptive culture on organizational resilience, that is the key of survival during crises like the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely impacted the business globally.

This study exploited a cross-sectional online questionnaire of a random sample of Dubai service firms, with the unit of analysis being at the firm level. In total, 379 usable responses were received. Regression analysis was conducted to test hypotheses.

The overall findings of this study supported that transformational leadership is positively associated with both adaptive culture and firm's resilience and significantly impacts them. Adaptive culture was found partially mediating the effect of transformational leadership on organizational resilience.

The research findings provide important insights to practitioners (managers and leaders) to better improve their transformational qualities, as these qualities are expected to improve the organizational adaptive cultures and capacity of resilience.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the first studies to examine the transformational leadership effect on organizational adaptive culture and firm's resilience. This investigation expands the boundaries of leadership style theory into new arenas, attempting to partially address the identified knowledge gap in this vein.

The chapter tries to highlight the critical importance of values to leadership, and argues that the research design of the ‘social scientific’ mainstream is incommensurable with the language of the scientific discipline that studies values: moral philosophy. The chapter shows that (a) through goals and actions, ethics is a central aspect of leadership and (b) that ethics cannot be reinterpreted as being ‘value-neutral’. Therefore, ‘effective’ leadership must always be connected to a specific value set. After arguing that leadership cannot be meaningfully looked at without reference to virtue ethics, two case studies are used to demonstrate the relationship between the two. By looking at two prominent terrorist leaders, the chapter shows how values are at the heart of their visions and actions. There are at least two practical implications: the study of leadership, and leadership education, must be reconnected with moral philosophy. The chapter connects three hitherto unconnected topics: leadership, (virtue) ethics and terrorism, presenting new insights into especially leadership.

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.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the sensory properties and chemical composition of corn and sorghum flakes manufactured using 25, 50, 75 and 100 per cent date syrup (DS), instead of sugar.

Ten individuals assessed the overall acceptability, taste, texture and aroma of flakes. The chemical composition of each type of flake was determined, and these characteristics compared with those of control corn and sorghum flakes (without DS).

The overall acceptability of sorghum flakes ranged from 6.3 (100 per cent DS flakes) to 6.8 (25 per cent DS flakes); however, the difference was not significant. Values for taste, texture and aroma of sorghum flakes ranged from 5.3 (taste of 100 per cent DS flakes) to 7.2 (texture of 25 per cent DS flakes). For corn flakes, values ranged from 6.20 (aroma of 100 per cent DS flakes) to 7.20 (texture of 25 per cent DS flakes). For both sorghum and corn, the colors of 25-100 per cent DS flakes were significantly different from controls (p = 0.0002). The total carbohydrate, fat, protein and ash contents were 81.669 per cent, 1.545 per cent, 13.27 per cent and 3.52 per cent for corn flour, and 83.38-85.78 per cent, 1.7-2.0 per cent, 10.02-12.13 per cent and 2.36-3.92 per cent for sorghum flour, respectively. The total carbohydrate, fat, protein and ash contents were 81.63 per cent, 5.75 per cent, 9.80 per cent and 2.82 per cent for corn, and 86.31-84.99 per cent, 3.15-4.27 per cent, 7.64-7.94 per cent and 2.92-2.79 per cent for sorghum flakes, respectively.

Corn and sorghum flakes produced with DS are acceptable to consumers, and their nutrient values indicate potential health benefits.

In non-Muslim parts of the World, the majority of people increasingly link Islam with violence and terrorism. Nevertheless, salam (peace) is a core concept of Islamic spirituality. This chapter therefore tries to find the gaps in our understanding of the relation between Islam and Peace and tries to explain why the contemporary view of Islam as an inherently violent religion should be corrected. Starting from linguistic, theological and historical analysis, the intimate link between Islam and ‘salam’ is described. This is followed by an analysis of contemporary sectarian conflicts and their relationship with the present day geo-politics.

The chapter advances the idea that the ‘monotheism’ is not the driving force behind many of the contemporary conflicts in which Muslims are involved but that the main culprit is a sort of ‘moneytheism’ prevalent both in the East and the West. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the prophet’s original concept of monotheism and its view of God as ‘Ar-Rahman’ in order to propose a way out of our contemporary global cultural tensions and conflicts.