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Agricultural waste and food sources are some of the pollutants of the environment. One of these wastes is the peel of fruits that cannot be consumed as food. In this regard, walnut husk (WH) and oleaster peel (PO) are known as two important sources of tannin and are bulky wastes. Because of the high percentage of tannin, these materials can be used as a natural source for the preparation of bio-mordant in the dyeing process.

In this study, Reseda and Madder were used as natural dyes in the presence of a mixture of two bio-mordants. WH and PO were selected as bio-mordant. All natural resources are extracted to obtain the juice. The phenolic percentage of tannin-containing extracts was evaluated and then it was used for wool yarns by premordanting method. The results of evaluating the fastness properties using the ISO method.

The most important achievement of this research is the use of agricultural waste in the dyeing process to reduce environmental pollution and create added value. All compounds rich in tannin have some phenolic components, therefore the amount of phenolic content of these extracts was evaluated. The effect of mixing the mordant on the color characteristics of the yarns was investigated and the results showed that changing the ratio of the combination of two mordant is effective on the K/S values. The results of evaluating the fastness properties using the ISO method showed that the washing, rubbing and light fastness in the presence of mordant is good, good and moderate, respectively.

In this paper, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, for the first time, the combination of two natural extracts obtained from agricultural waste has been used to create a new bio-mordant on fibers and improve stability.

Access to patent-related information is facilitated in large part by repositories of patents. Additionally, patent repositories support transparency and knowledge exchange, both of which can spark new alliances and collaborations. In addition to serving as a source of inspiration for future inventions, they allow companies, researchers and inventors to look up current patents and prevent infringement. Globally, the scientific and academic communities are becoming increasingly interested in open-access repositories. Countries throughout the world have kept up their repositories because of their significance. A directory of open access repositories (OpenDOAR) is a reliable source with minimally inaccurate or dubious content, having been meticulously chosen and validated. It acts as a global registration hub, enabling the visibility and accessibility of research contributions. Hence, this study aims to look into the current status of open-access repositories for archiving “Patents”, at the global level in OpenDOAR by analysing the different characteristic features of repositories.

The advanced search strategy of the directory of open-access repositories (www.opendoar.org/) is used to extract the data. The data extraction process was carried out on 28th March 2023. The study limited its search to “Patents” only, among the different content types listed in it. A total of 253 repositories were retrieved that contained the selected content type. However, the advanced search feature was combined one by one with other available parameters to retrieve the data. The gathered data was saved in MS Excel for further analysis. Moreover, the open access policies, open archives initiative protocol for metadata harvesting (OAI-PMH) and language interface of repositories were manually looked up from each repository/record information. To present the findings, charts and tables were used to visualize the gathered data effectively.

The study shows that repositories have increased over the years, with the highest number established in 2022. The UK has emerged as the most prominent country contributing to the development of repositories for archiving patents. The majority of the repositories are institutional, and DSpace is the most commonly used software for their creation. While Web 2.0 tools are not widely used, however, a significant number of repositories have incorporated RSS feeds, Atom and social media. Open access policies play a vital role in managing the content archived in the repositories, and only a small percentage of the repositories were found to be following them. However, the majority of the repositories have shown OAI-PMH compliance. English is the most commonly preferred interface language by repositories for archiving patents. These findings suggest that there is still significant room for improvement in the development and management of repositories, and adherence to open-access policies could play a crucial role in ensuring their sustainability and usefulness in the future.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, the study is the first of its type that examines the global landscape of open-access patent repositories.

Gunung Mulu National Park (GMNP) is one of the two protected areas with UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) status in Malaysia. Until now, this area can only be accessed by tourists via air and water transportation only. Recently, the government has proposed the construction of a road connecting GMNP to several areas, including Miri City through a high-impact infrastructure project. However, this project might instigate the potential benefits and challenges in terms of tourism development and community well-being. As custodians of the park, their support for this initiative needs to be dismantled so that the management of the national park can still be implemented holistically and does not jeopardise the current UNESCO status of WHS. WHS is UNESCO-designated area of cultural, historical, scientific, or other significant value, legally safeguarded by international agreements, and preserved for the benefit of future generations due to its exceptional value to humanity. Thus, this study aims to examine challenges and socioeconomic impacts of the proposed road among key informants' perspectives at Long Terawan Village, Long Iman Village, Batu Bungan Village and GMNP Headquarters. The study was conducted via in-depth interviews with 10 community members residing in the settlement, including a tribal chief, boatman, lodging operator, park guide and farmer, all of whom are professionals and representatives of the local community. They were designated as key informants on account of their extensive engagement and development within the community. Through a thematic analysis, their perspectives on the proposed roads to be built in the area were elucidated. The study offers pragmatic understanding of socioeconomic impact assessment, which could inform strategic decision-making by incorporating information regarding potential benefits and challenges of the proposed road construction to an isolated protected area.

Re-entry refers to the process of transitioning back into society after incarceration, and it is a complex phenomenon that requires further exploration. Therefore, this study aims to identify the readiness for re-entry among pre-release prisoners in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory as the theoretical foundation, quantitative place-based research was conducted among 384 pre-release prisoners in Kuching, Sri Aman, Sibu, Miri, Bintulu and Limbang prisons.

This study’s results indicated that most respondents were Malay male offenders between the ages of 25 and 29, Malaysian citizens, single and had completed their education up to the upper secondary level. Most respondents had multiple prior convictions (52.3%), were convicted for drug-related offences (50.3%), had served sentences ranging from two to five years (56.0%) and were scheduled for release in 2023 (60.7%). The findings also demonstrated that factors such as personal development, perceived employability, social development and health development significantly predict readiness for re-entry among pre-release prisoners [F(4, 379) = 96.269, p < 0.01].

The findings of this study provide place-based evidence for the state government to understand the prisoner profile for further policy intervention measures and to enhance the personal development, perceived employability, social development and health development of pre-release prisoners. Given that most offenses were drug-related, it is crucial to highlight the state government’s need to invest in evidence-based drug treatment programmes. Synergy among different stakeholders is important to devise appropriate drug treatment programmes tailored to the current needs of the prison population to ensure successful reintegration into society and to actualise their potential.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research study conducted in Sarawak, Malaysia, that examined re-entry readiness among pre-release prisoners. It contributes to the knowledge pool by providing place-based evidence that takes into account readiness for re-entry among pre-release prisoners in Sarawak, Malaysia, from an Asian perspective to promote the attainment of SDG16.

This study aims to examine the effect of application architecture and application efficiency on the intention to continue using Islamic bank with data security as a moderator. The investigation was situated within the framework of a hacker attack that compromised the security of customer data at one of Indonesia’s largest Islamic bank.

A survey questionnaire method was used, and the sample population comprised users of Islamic bank in Indonesia. The respondents were then selected purposively with the criteria of individuals who were using mobile banking services. Furthermore, data collection in this study was carried out by distributing questionnaires online. To validate the questionnaire, consultation and validation were conducted by engaging four experts and conducting a pilot study. Hypothesis testing was performed using the structural equation modeling method based on partial least squares.

The results of the partial least square structural model assessment showed that application efficiency and data security positively influenced the intention to continue using Islamic bank, while application architecture had no effect. Furthermore, data security could not moderate the relationship between application architecture and efficiency toward the intention to continue using Islamic bank.

The results of this study suggested that Islamic banking practitioners must prioritize the enhancement of digital banking services, with a specific focus on improving application efficiency and ensuring robust data security. These two dimensions were critical determinants influencing the intention to continue using Islamic bank.

This study addressed the issue of data security as a moderator, particularly in the context of hacker attacks targeting a major Islamic bank in Indonesia. Furthermore, this current report expounded on the study conducted by Mir et al. (2022) by introducing novel dimensions to the e-service quality of internet banking.

The advent of robotics and automation technologies was augmenting firm initiatives to attain competitive advantage. From a resource-based view perspective, human-led capabilities were important to operate with technology resource base of an organisation. This was evident for both manufacturing as well as services firms. However, employees as an individual confronted technology anxiety (TA) when they were working with new technologies like robotics and automation technologies. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to examine the factors causing TA.

Given the novelty of this research study context a qualitative exploratory method was designed. For this research study, the data collected was through in-depth interviews conducted through open-ended semi-structured questionnaire. The data was collected from 62 frontline employees who were working with robotics and automation-based technologies in manufacturing firms. The authors applied thematic content analysis on collected data for analysis.

Technology anxieties ranged from fear of complete inability to learn new technologies, failure to learn new technologies properly, incapability to implement the learned skills and job loss to younger technology savvy employees. Finally, there was anxiety over job loss as automation and robotic technologies over the years was expected to erode the employment of human workforce altogether.

The author undertook the research study based upon the TA perspective advocated by Meuter et al. (2003) and Yang and Forney (2013). Furthermore, this research study in the context of robotics and automation-based technologies in the manufacturing sector applied the mental accounting theory (Thaler, 1999) and technology self-efficacy perspective (Huffman et al., 2013).

Managers involved in the implementation of robotics and automation-based technologies were required to address TA of employees. Fear of job loss had to be addressed specially in a country like India. Anxiety regarding the ability to learn to work with robotics and automation technologies also was needed to be addressed by managers through adequate training and time for preparation. The benefits of robotics and automation-based technologies for employees as well as organisations have to be ascertained through open communication between the management and the frontline employees.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was one of the first empirical research studies which deliberated regarding TA in the context of frontline workers working with robotics and automation-based technologies in the manufacturing sector. This research study was based upon a combination of varied perspectives ranging from micro foundations theory, TA, mental accounting theory and technology self-efficacy perspective.

Adopting a self-congruence theory (SCT) and service dominant logic (SDL)-informed perspectives; we develop a model that investigates the interface between social media involvement (SMI), self-brand congruence (SBC), customer-brand engagement (CBE), brand co-creation behavior (BCB), brand interactivity and behavioral intentions (BIN) with luxury service hotel–brands.

We test a sample of hotel-customers to probe this matter using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The results revealed that SBC and SMI positively impact CBE and BCB and behavioral intentions. The findings also exposed SMI’s and SBC’s indirect effect on customers' BCB and behavioral intentions, mediated through CBE. Finally, the results explored the moderating role of brand interactivity to enhance our model’s explanatory power.

We focus on SMI, CBE and BCB. This study contributes to the existing marketing and hospitality management research and spawns rich opportunities for further studies.

The study article assists marketers in comprehending the CBE-based antecedents and consequences and facilitates their increasing CBE, BCB and behavioral intentions.

While the growing insight into social media, customer engagement and co-creation within the service industries, little remains accredited concerning the link of these and related variables in the luxury hotel-brand context.

The objective of this study is to examine the various factors that exert an influence on the green economy. This study also investigates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the Malaysian economy, specifically focusing on its position as a mediator. This research also examines the correlation between FDI and its influence on the contemporary green economy.

The authors employed quantitative methodologies and a self-administered survey to evaluate data and derive a definitive conclusion. The result was constructed using SPSS and SEM-PLS as the analytical software.

The study reveals that technological advancement, investment country and government policy significantly and positively affect the green economy, catalyse SDG goals and restructure the economy in better shape.

The current empirical research bridges the research gap in the context of technology advancement in government policy from emerging economies by exploring important factors, proposing their impact on the performance of the green economy, and empirically testing those hypothesized relationships. This study deciphers that FDI influences the green economy, where the investment country plays a significant role. Also, for a graphical presentation of this abstract, see the online appendix.

This chapter discusses the extension of legal equality between male and female citizens in four states in North Africa – Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria – through one specific lens: A married woman's legal capacity to initiate and obtain divorce without the husband's consent. Building on the works of Stein Rokkan and Reinhard Bendix on the expansion of citizenship to the ‘lower classes’, it is argued that amendments in divorce law by introducing in-court divorce for women, in addition to out-of-court divorce, is a significant institutional change that extends legal equality between men and women. The introduction of in-court divorce expands female citizenship by bolstering woman's juridical autonomy and capacity in state law. Changes in divorce laws are thus part of state centralization by means of standardizing rules that regulate family law through public administrative institutions rather than religious organizations. Two questions are addressed: First, how did amendments in divorce laws occur after independence? Second, in which ways did women's bolstered legal capacity in divorce have a spill over effect on reforms in other patriarchal state laws? Based on observations on sequences of change in four states in North Africa, it is argued that amendments that equalize between men and women in divorce should be seen as a key driver for reforms in other state laws, that reduce legal inequality between male and female citizens. In all four states, women's citizenship was extended in nationality law and criminal law after amendments in divorce law gave women unilateral legal power to exit a marital relationship.