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Examines the incongruency between what business schools teach and what business organizations actually need. Suggests a need for reform. Explores the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation standards and suggests that this needs much clarification. States that emphasis should be less on the evaluation of “the institutional machinery of business schools” and more on management education′s “impact on society” as an indication of success. Concludes that more innovative action is needed within the management education process.

MBA education in India is facing the same challenges as business. Upheaval of technology, changing customer expectations, global competition, online courses and societal responsibility are the major concerns. Failure to adapt to these challenges will question the academic contribution to business practice. Business school (B‐school) branding is crucial to distinguish the services provided by one B‐school from another. Considering the importance and relevance of adapting to the changing market forces, the purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model of brand‐building for Indian B‐schools.

A range of published literature related to the topic is thoroughly searched. The paper examines the viewpoints of various scholars with regard to the role of a student in a B‐school. The services marketing perspective is analyzed and the gaps are identified through a robust literature survey. Based on the literature survey, an original conceptual model for brand‐building for B‐schools is proposed.

Some B‐schools have adopted certain branding activities, but extant literature review reveals that B‐schools in India do not practice an organized holistic approach to branding activities.

The proposed conceptual model is stage one in the process of understanding what goes into building a B‐school brand. Stage two would empirically test the proposed conceptual model of brand‐building. The proposed model is holistic, considering the role of important stakeholders such as students, faculty and corporate. This conceptual model will help B‐school management to understand the role and importance of branding B‐schools. It will provide an insight into the various parameters on which a B‐school brand has to be built.

A mobile wallet (m-wallet) is a part of financial technology products and is still in the infant stage in Palestine. The technology acceptance model (TAM) formed the basis of the model development, which was extended in the study to include an analysis of how knowledge sharing (KOS), perceived value (PEV), perceived privacy awareness and control (PRI) and perceived security (SEC) influenced the primary TAM components of perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PRU) and intention to use m-wallets among Palestinian users.

This study used questionnaires as its primary data collection method. The questionnaires were distributed via online media, and the data collection period spanned from January 10, 2023, to February 21, 2023. The study received 360 responses from participants. Smart PLS and SPSS v.23 software were used to perform a method test on the collected questionnaire data.

The study’s findings demonstrate the factors influencing Palestinian users’ adoption of m-wallets by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to include knowledge sharing, perceived value, privacy awareness and control and security, in addition to the main TAM elements, perceived ease of use (PEU) and perceived usefulness (PU), offering new insights into technology adoption in developing regions and addressing gaps in the literature.

This study has some limitations. First, it is limited because it looks at users’ intentions to use rather than their actual usage. The actual use of an m-wallet should be the topic of further research. Second, rather than focusing on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), this study examined users’ intentions to use m-wallets. Thus, SMEs’ use of m-wallets may be studied in future research. Third, because the study users were from Palestine, the results may not be generalizable. Therefore, additional populations and cultures should be studied in future research. Fourth, the study used a convenience sample of 282 users. As a result, it is not easy to generalize to a sizable population. Future studies should use larger sample sizes or random samples. Finally, this study examined the direct relationship between independent and dependent variables. Future research may consider personal innovativeness and artificial intelligence as potential moderators.

User knowledge sharing can be an important factor driving user intention to use m-wallet. Users can raise awareness of m-wallets by sharing their knowledge and experiences with others about their uses, features and advantages. This is particularly useful in a country like Palestine, where m-wallets are not widely accepted or used. Therefore, m-wallets service providers should improve their services to motivate the users to share their knowledge with others to increase user intention to use. For instance, m-wallet service providers can provide user support programs that assist users in resolving issues, responding to inquiries and offering feedback on the service. Additionally, m-wallet service providers can enhance the user experience of their m-wallet by providing user-friendly interfaces, quick and dependable service and robust security features. By improving the user experience and providing users with a supportive and responsive environment, service providers can encourage users to share their positive experiences with others and increase user intention to use the m-wallet. User knowledge sharing can be an important factor driving user intention to use m-wallet. Users can raise awareness of m-wallets by sharing their knowledge and experiences with others about their uses, features and advantages. This is particularly useful in a country like Palestine, where m-wallets are not widely accepted or used. Therefore, m-wallets service providers should improve their services to motivate the users to share their knowledge with others to increase user intention to use. For instance, m-wallet service providers can provide user support programs that assist users in resolving issues, responding to inquiries and offering feedback on the service. Additionally, m-wallet service providers can enhance the user experience of their m-wallet by providing user-friendly interfaces, quick and dependable service and robust security features.

The widespread adoption of m-wallets is an important area of research, as it has significant theoretical implications for technology adoption. M-wallets provide an easy and secure way to pay without cash or physical cards. Therefore, identifying the factors affecting users’ intention to use m-wallets can help Palestinian m-wallet service providers to develop their marketing strategies. Extending the TAM to include four important factors (knowledge sharing, perceived value, perceived privacy awareness and control and perceived security) has improved our understanding of technology adoption models. The study empirically examines the intentions of Palestinian users to use m-wallets and how this novel technology is used in this area of the Arab world. The results empirically support that these factors strongly affect users’ intentions to use m-wallets. Thus, this study fills the knowledge gap about the factors influencing the use of m-wallets in Palestine and adds to the literature on the user intentions to use new technologies. Finally, this study is one of the first to examine the relationship between knowledge sharing, perceived value, perceived privacy awareness and control, perceived security and technology acceptance models in general and the extended TAM with these factors in a specific m-wallet context.

The preliminary empirical study investigates the factors affecting the use of m-wallets in Palestine by extending TAM with knowledge sharing, perceived value, perceived privacy awareness and control and perceived security as external variables to the model. The findings of this study help to fill a gap in the existing literature by identifying key variables that affect Palestinians’ intentions to use m-wallet. This study also contributes to the increase in knowledge in the area. To date, no studies have explored privacy in terms of awareness, control and knowledge sharing as essential factors that affect users’ intention to use m-wallets in Palestine.

In the developing field of nano-materials synthesis, copper oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are deemed to be one of the most significant transition metal oxides because of their intriguing characteristics. Its synthesis employing green chemistry principles has become a key source for next-generation antibiotics attributed to its features such as environmental friendliness, ease of use and affordability. Because they are more environmentally benign, plants have been employed to create metallic NPs. These plant extracts serve as capping, stabilising or hydrolytic agents and enable a regulated synthesis as well.

Organic chemical solvents are harmful and entail intense conditions during nanoparticle synthesis. The copper oxide NPs (CuO-NPs) synthesised by employing the green chemistry principle showed potential antitumor properties. Green synthesised CuO-NPs are regarded to be a strong contender for applications in the pharmacological, biomedical and environmental fields.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the anticancer potential of CuO-NPs plant extracts to isolate and characterise the active anticancer principles as well as to yield more effective, affordable, and safer cancer therapies.

This review article highlights the copper oxide nanoparticle's biomedical applications such as anticancer, antimicrobial, dental and drug delivery properties, future research perspectives and direction are also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to ensure the anonymity and security of health data and improve the integrity and authenticity among patients, doctors and insurance providers. Simulation and validation algorithms are proposed in this work to ensure the proper implementation of the distributed system to secure and manage healthcare data. The author also aims to examine the methodology of Wireless Body Area Networks and how it contributes to the health monitoring system.

Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) plays an important role in patient health data monitoring. In this paper, a novel framework is designed and proposed to generate data by the sensor machines and be stored in the cloud, and the transactions can be secured by blockchain. DNA cryptography is used in the framework to encrypt the hashes of the blocks. The proposed framework will ensure the anonymity and security of the health data and improve the integrity and authenticity among the patients, doctors and insurance providers.

Cloud Computing and Distributed Networking have transformed the IT industry and their amalgamation with intelligent systems would revolutionize the Healthcare Industry. The data being generated by devices is huge and storing it in the cloud environment would be a better decision. However, the privacy and security of healthcare data are still a concern because medical data is very confidential and desires to be safe and secure. The blockchain is a promising distributed network that ensures the security aspect of the data and makes the transactions authentic and transparent. In this work, the data is collected using various sensor devices and is transmitted to the cloud through the WBAN via the blockchain network.

In this paper, a framework for securing and managing the healthcare data generated by intelligent systems is proposed. As the data generated by these devices are heterogeneous and huge in nature, the cloud environment is chosen for its storage and analysis. Therefore, the transactions to and from the cloud are secured by using the blockchain-based distributed network.

The target end-users of our system are the patients to keep themselves informed and healthy, healthcare providers to monitor the conditions of their patients virtually, and the health insurance providers to have a track of the history of the patients, so that no fraudulent claims can be made.

The target end-users of our system are the patients for keeping themselves informed and healthy, healthcare providers for monitoring the conditions of their patients virtually and the health insurance providers to have a track of the history of the patients, so that no fraudulent claims can be made.

The purpose of the research is to analyze the impact of world uncertainty and pandemic uncertainty on Islamic financial markets. For representing Islamic financial markets four different Islamic indices (DJ Islamic index, DJ Islamic Asia–Pacific index, DJ Islamic-Europe index and DJ Islamic-US) are taken.

The study employs quantile-on-quantile regression approach to see the overall dependence structure of variables based on quarterly data ranging from 1996Q1 to 2020Q4. This technique considers how quantiles of world uncertainty and pandemic uncertainty asymmetrically affect the quantiles of Islamic stocks by giving an appropriate framework to apprehend the overall dependence structure.

The findings of the study confirm a strong negative impact of world uncertainty and world pandemic uncertainty on regional Islamic stock indices but the strength of the relationship varies according to economic conditions and across the regions. However, the world pandemic effect remains the same and does not change. Conversely, pandemic uncertainty has a larger effect on Islamic indices as compared to world uncertainty.

Our findings have significant implications for investors and policymakers to take proper steps before any uncertainty arise. A coalition of the central bank, government officials and investment bank regulators would be needed to tackle this challenge of uncertainty.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, none of the current works has considered the asymmetric impact of world and pandemic uncertainties on Islamic stock markets at both the bottom and upper quantiles of the distribution of data.

In alignment with the European Union’s Vision Zero initiative to eliminate road fatalities by 2050, leveraging technological advancements becomes crucial for addressing the challenges of vulnerable road users (VRUs), and for mitigating the impact of human error. Despite increasing scholarly interest in applications of extended reality (XR), a research gap persists, particularly in the role of XR in transportation safety. Therefore, the aim of the study was to fill this gap through a systematic literature review to evaluate comprehensively the potential scope and practical applicability of XR technologies in enhancing the safety of VRUs.

A systematic review was undertaken, following PRISMA guidelines meticulously, in which 80 relevant articles from databases, such as Scopus and Science Direct, were identified and analysed.

The results of the analysis revealed the potential of XR beyond pedestrians and cyclists, and highlighted a lack of research about the impact of XR with regard to the personal traits or abilities of VRUs. The results of a thorough analysis confirmed the potential of XR as a promising solution for an approach to collaborative co-creation in addressing the safety challenges of VRUs. In addition, the integration of eye-tracking with virtual reality emerged as a promising innovation for enhancing the safety of vulnerable road users.

Theoretical implications include enhancing the understanding of applications of XR in VRUs’ safety and providing insights into future research possibilities and methodological approaches. Valuable insights into search strategies and inclusion-exclusion criteria can guide future research methodologies.

Practically, the findings from the study offer insights to assist urban planners and transportation authorities in incorporating XR technologies effectively for VRUs safety. Identifying areas for further development of XR technology could inspire innovation and investment in solutions designed to meet the safety needs of VRUs, such as enhanced visualisation tools and immersive training simulations.

The findings of previous research underscore the vast potential of XR technologies within the built environment, yet their utilisation remains limited in the urban transport sector. The intricacies of urban traffic scenarios pose significant challenges for VRUs, making participation in mobility studies hazardous. Hence, it is crucial to explore the scope of emerging technologies in addressing VRUs issues as a pre-requisite for establishing comprehensive safety measures.

The case is meant as a way for students to develop ideas related to the challenges facing environmental eco-friendly social enterprises that sell their products in a country like Egypt where consumers are way behind considering the value of their products. In response to these challenges, students learn to evaluate the company status quo by analyzing its weaknesses, strengths and opportunities to grow and expand geographically to a new market. Students also learn about the growth expansion strategies and internationalization modes, options and associated barriers. Accordingly, they can plan the marketing strategies associated with entering this new market for up-cycled products. Objective 1: Analyze the international geographical growth alternative for an enterprise that improves its scalability applying weaknesses, strengths, threats and opportunities analysis. Objective 2: Propose a strategic plan for growth and scalability. Objective 3: Discuss the various modes of doing business in foreign countries. Recommend an internationalization mode for a social enterprise to explore in a new market. Objective 4: Assess the possible barriers associated with internationalization modes and how to overcome them. Objective 5: Propose marketing strategies for an eco-friendly enterprise to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness in the international host market. Other topics that might be discussed in this case include consumer behavior toward environmentally friendly products. Pricing challenges faced by ecologically friendly firms in developing countries.

Rania and Yara were inspired by Germany’s approach to waste reduction, particularly plastic bags. In 2017, after winning several competitions and awards, Up-Fuse was officially established as a social enterprise. The entrepreneurs faced great challenges selling sustainable products made of plastic waste to Egyptian consumers. Egyptian consumers were not fully aware of the value of eco-friendly products which presented a great challenge for Up-Fuse to grow and sell their products in Egypt. After shifting its pricing strategy and expanding beyond the local recycled product markets, Up-Fuse further faced fierce competition from well-established local and international brands with larger market shares. Thus, most of Up-Fuse’s sales were generated from expats and foreigners. In response to local obstacles and limitations, Rania began to consider targeting international markets. Rania thought it was the opportune time to drive growth through geographic expansion. After all, in 2020, Up-Fuse had some minor success when the co-founders experimented with exporting their products to the US market. Rania’s co-founder Yara, on the other hand, felt that the enterprise was not yet ready to enter a new market and it would be wiser to emphasize growth in the local Egyptian market. The co-founders were torn between two growth strategies. On one hand, they faced intense local competition for their products. On the other, expanding by entering a new market came with many challenges. Which growth strategy should Up-Fuse adopt? How could Up-Fuse determine which market to penetrate? What were the possible scalability challenges they faced by entering a new market? How could Up-Fuse reach and increase their international customer base abroad? What was the best marketing strategy for their products?

This case would be appropriate for graduate students enrolled in marketing, consumer behavior, international marketing, international business and social entrepreneurship courses. This case is written at a graduate level and would also be appropriate for use in customized or short programs.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 5: International Business.

This study aims to investigate the impact of emotional intelligence on work engagement by exploring the mediating roles of self-efficacy and psychological empowerment in this relationship.

Using the survey method, data were collected through both physical and online means. The final sample comprised 304 teachers working in elementary, middle and high schools. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, utilizing IBM Amos version 26, was employed to assess the hypothesized model.

The study's results revealed that emotional intelligence does not exert a direct impact on work engagement. Additionally, self-efficacy was not found to mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement. However, psychological empowerment emerged as a mediating factor in this context. Furthermore, self-efficacy and psychological empowerment concurrently demonstrated significant mediation of the relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement.

The findings underscore the significance of teachers' emotional intelligence, suggesting that it can have profound implications for their work engagement through the mediating mechanisms of self-efficacy and psychological empowerment. Educational principals and administrators are encouraged to prioritize the enhancement of teachers' psychological empowerment, recognizing it as a pivotal link between teachers' emotional intelligence and work engagement.

This study contributes to the field by comprehensively examining the mediating roles of self-efficacy and psychological empowerment, addressing prior empirical gaps, and enriching the understanding of how emotional intelligence influences work engagement within the educational sphere.

The oil and gas industry form the main resource of economy in Iraq and constructing any project in such sectors requires a huge amount of expenses due to the unique requirements that oil and gas facilities required in such projects. Therefore, adopting an appropriate technological approach such as building information modeling (BIM) which is unfortunately not adopted yet in Iraq is essential to successfully deliver these projects. Thus, this paper aimed to introduce BIM to Iraq through Basra Oil Company (BOC) which is one of the biggest public oil and gas companies in Iraq.

The related literature of journals articles, conference proceedings and published reports have been reviewed. As a result, firstly: a hypothesis has been derived that is “If Basra Oil Company (BOC) adopts and applies BIM approach instead of the 2D approach currently used to manage its projects, the company can overcome several constraints in managing its projects that associated with such 2D traditional approach”; secondly: homogenous, consistence and reliable web-based questionnaire has been designed as its Cronbach’s alpha equal to 0.897 and 0.711 for BIM benefits and barriers, respectively. This questionnaire distributed to the BOC related professionals to test such hypothesis by investigating their readiness and accepting of BIM approach and to rank BIM barriers based on five-point Likert scale.

Based on the analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 of 115 responses, almost 50% of the respondents had experience 11–15 years, while 22.6% had experience more than 15 years in oil and gas industry construction projects. Those participants were from diverse engineering majors that are: 4.3% Architectural Engineers, 31.3% Civil Engineers, 20% Mechanical Engineers, 22.6% Electrical Engineers and 21.7% from other engineering majors. The respondents’ departments demography was 16.5% of design department, 12.2% of construction department, 20.9% of Project Management Department, 12.2% of Maintenance department, 4.3% of HSE Department, 13% of Production Department and 20.9% of “Other Department.” The study resulted in 1: accepting BIM approach to be an alternative of current 2D-traditional approach used by the company to manage and construct its projects, since mean of collected data is (4.4332), Kruskal–Wallis H test significance values were 0.398 and 0.372; and ANOVA test significance values were 0.433 and 0.599 among Engineering Majors groups and Company’s Department groups, respectively. 2: Disclosed and sequenced BIM barriers in the company based on their criticality. 3: verifying reliably how BIM attributes are important to oil and gas construction projects in Iraq, 4: the company top management and company policies are the most critical potential factors to hinder or adopt and implement BIM in the company, 5: while cost is not seen a critical barrier to implement BIM in the oil and gas sector.

The limitation of this study is the excluding of decision makers of BOC, thus more profound future studies need to be conducted where top management and decision makers are involved, particularly the present study demonstrated that support of company top management is the most critical factor which can help the company to adopt (BIM).

The study concludes that BIM approach is valuable for managing projects in oil and gas sector in Iraq and identify the originality in output by using the research method. This noble study provides a leverage for enhanced research to adopt and implement building information modeling (BIM) in Iraq as the study originally demonstrates benefits and identifies the critical barriers in BIM implementation to push the boundaries toward adopt Digitalization and reduce CO2 emission in Iraqi oil and gas sector. The study can be used as evidence and platform to encourage professionals and practitioners to present more sophisticated tools of BIM in the oil and gas industry, especially for facility and operation management. These findings achieved via oil and gas experts, and it is first time to achieve such findings from a case study in Iraqi oil and gas sector.