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This paper aims to present the fabrication of 6061 aluminum alloy (AA6061) using a promising laser additive manufacturing process, called the laser-foil-printing (LFP) process. The process window of AA6061 in LFP was established to optimize process parameters for the fabrication of high strength, dense and crack-free parts even though AA6061 is challenging for laser additive manufacturing processes due to hot-cracking issues.

The multilayers AA6061 parts were fabricated by LFP to characterize for cracks and porosity. Mechanical properties of the LFP-fabricated AA6061 parts were tested using Vicker’s microhardness and tensile testes. The electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) technique was used to reveal the grain structure and preferred orientation of AA6061 parts.

The crack-free AA6061 parts with a high relative density of 99.8% were successfully fabricated using the optimal process parameters in LFP. The LFP-fabricated parts exhibited exceptional tensile strength and comparable ductility compared to AA6061 samples fabricated by conventional laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) processes. The EBSD result shows the formation of cracks was correlated with the cooling rate of the melt pool as cracks tended to develop within finer grain structures, which were formed in a shorter solidification time and higher cooling rate.

This study presents the pioneering achievement of fabricating crack-free AA6061 parts using LFP without the necessity of preheating the substrate or mixing nanoparticles into the melt pool during the laser melting. The study includes a comprehensive examination of both the mechanical properties and grain structures, with comparisons made to parts produced through the traditional LPBF method.

Urban communities can be faced with many destructive events that can disrupt the daily functioning of activities and livelihood of people living in the communities. In this regard, during the last couple of years, many governments have put a lot of efforts into building resilient urban communities. Essentially, a resilient urban community has the capacity to anticipate future disasters, prepare for and recover timely from adverse effects of disasters and unexpected circumstances. Considering this, it is therefore important for the need to continuously review the existing urban community resilience indicators, in order to identify emerging ones to enable comprehensive evaluation of urban communities in the future against unexpected events. This study therefore aims to conduct a systematic review to develop and critically analyse the emerging and leading urban community resilience indicators.

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRSIMA) protocol, 53 journal articles were selected using Scopus. The selected papers were subjected to thorough content analysis.

From the review, 45 urban community resilience indicators were identified. These indicators were grouped into eight broad categories namely, Socio-demographic, Economic, Institutional Resilience, Infrastructure and Housing Resilience, Collaboration, Community Capital, Risk Data Accumulation and Geographical and Spatial characteristics of community. Further, the results indicated that the U.S had the highest number of publications, followed by Australia, China, New Zealand and Taiwan. In fact, very few studies emanated from developing economies.

The outputs of this study will inform policymakers, practitioners and researchers on the new and emerging indicators that should be considered when evaluating the resilience level of urban communities. The findings will also serve as a theoretical foundation for further detailed empirical investigation.

In the context of promoting sustainable development in SMEs, the present study aims to investigate the relationship among solution dimensions based on the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) concept.

The study employs a comprehensive methodology that includes a systematic literature review, workshop, grounded theory and interpretive structural modeling. Various dimensions concerning I4.0 sustainability are tested and evaluated using a questionnaire design followed by hypothesis formulation. Further, grounded theory is used to extract the key solution dimensions that capture the essence of I4.0 implementation in SMEs. Finally, the solution dimensions for I4.0 sustainability are modeled using the ISM approach to understand the structural interdependencies among them, and Matrice d'Impacts Croisés Multiplication Applied to a Classification (MICMAC) analysis is done to understand the driving and dependence power among these dimensions.

The study identified 14 solution dimensions for the implementation of I4.0 in SMEs for sustainable development. Out of the 14 solution dimensions, human resource training programs (D4) appear at level 11, followed by top management commitment (D1), strategic collaborations (D3) and coordination among key stakeholders (D5) at level 2 in the hierarchical interpretive structural modeling (ISM) model. Also, these dimensions have an effect size of more than 0.50 which indicates a substantial correlation between the sustainability dimensions and Industry 4.0 implementation in SMEs.

The study contributes to the overall goal of fostering sustainability within the SME sector, which can pave the way for various stakeholders for the successful implementation of I4.0 sustainable solution dimensions.

This paper aims to contribute to the political connection literature by investigating the impact of political connection on banks’ profitability in Bahrain.

Exploiting the unique natural experiment of the 2017 Qatar blockade crisis, this study uses primary data of political connection. The study uses the difference-in-difference (DID) methodology to investigate the effect of political connections on banks’ profitability.

The main finding is that political connections have a positive effect on bank profitability in Bahrain. The paper finds that the ongoing GCC crisis has had a negative effect on the banking sector of Bahrain. During the Qatar blockade crisis, politically connected banks suffered more than their non-connected counterparts.

The result suggests that the Qatar blockade crisis has had a notable effect on the banking system throughout the region, including both the boycotting countries as well as Qatar. In the banking sector, politically connected banks are the most harmed by the crisis. Investors can enhance their hedging and investment decisions by exploiting knowledge of how political connections affected bank profitability during the Qatar diplomatic crisis and how that effect can be transmitted from one market to another. In addition, regulators could use insights about the association between political connections and profitability in Bahrain to undertake strategies to increase banks’ profitability and mitigate the transmission effect of a crisis by ensuring adequate regulation and supervision.

This paper offers four novel contributions to political connection literature as follows: Firstly, the study fills in an important gap in the literature as it is the first attempt to quantify the impact of political connections on bank performance in Bahrain. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the role of political factors in Bahrain has not been studied about the banking system. Secondly, the study depends on primary data about political connections collected manually from various sources. Thirdly, this is the first study to investigate the effect of the Qatar blockade on the banking sector. Lastly, the evidence suggests that politically connected banks are more profitable than banks that lack political connections. However, the Qatar blockade crisis resulted in a sharp decrease in bank profitability, suggesting that the crisis significantly harmed the banking sector in Bahrain.

The purpose of this study is to review university social responsibility (USR) using a well-known quantitative approach of bibliometric analysis. Compared to corporate social responsibility (CSR), USR is in its infancy stage, requiring further exploration of its meaning and impact toward higher education institutions (HEIs).

A total of 306 publications and 9,530 cited references were retrieved from the Web of Science database. Bibliographic coupling analysis was applied to uncover present themes, while co-word analysis was used to predict future trends.

Findings suggested that themes are centralized toward the impact of USR on HEIs. USR is important for HEIs to attain excellence in today's challenging business environment.

USR could develop HEIs into world-renowned institutions by establishing a good reputation and engaging with the broader community, locally and internationally. USR is regarded as HEIs' new value proposition in marketing its brand within the competitive environment in higher education.

This study is the first that reviews USR by extracting the knowledge structure and providing visualization on the implicit themes of the subject interest.

This study provides a critical review of the literature on information literacy in the workplace and its relevant issues. The purpose of this study is to examine two elements: how the predominantly academic information literacy is experienced in the workplace; and review how academically based information literacy frameworks can be used to increase performance in the workplace.

A critical approach to information literacy was implemented for the introduction and background information by searching for scholarly publications referring to information literacy and information literacy in the workplace. Overall, 65 published articles in English were selected and found suitable.

According to the existing literature, very few frameworks tailored to specific workplaces have been discovered and were all found to be pertinent to academic settings that included researchers. The review revealed the perceived positive role of information literacy in raising work performance. The paper concludes that the benefit for information literate employees and employers is apparent, but those differences in academic information literacy and workplace information literacy are significant.

Information literacy frameworks for the workplace, when used, are still heavily reliant on the educational sector and need to be further researched in order for them to adequately address specific workplace contexts and their socially collaborative information literacy activities.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of teachers’ performance expectancy, teachers’ effort expectancy, teachers’ performance anxiety, teachers’ engagement, perceived student engagement, teachers’ digital competence, teachers’ normalization ease and perceived organizational support as predictors of teachers’ satisfaction with online teaching-learning, especially during a pandemic in the context of hospitality, tourism and travel education.

Conceptually, this study is grounded in the normalization process theory and examines teachers’ satisfaction by applying the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model. To test the proposed model, 374 complete survey forms were received for data analysis from teachers engaged with higher education institutes offering courses in the field of hospitality, travel and tourism. Minor modifications were made to the survey instrument based on inputs received after a pilot study.

The model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Of the eight constructs predicting teachers’ satisfaction in the online teaching-learning environment, two constructs, that is, teachers’ effort expectancy and teachers’ digital competence, were found to have an insignificant relationship. This finding hints at the emergence of a “new normal.”

This study contributes to the literature by presenting and validating a theory-driven framework that accentuates the factors influencing online teaching during the outbreak of a pandemic. This study further extends the unified theory of acceptance and integrates it with the normalization process theory to test and validate the model in the unique context of hospitality education which is considered to be highly practice oriented.

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled educational institutions to shift to online learning modes. This is unprecedented for students and teachers of hospitality, travel and tourism, especially in a developing country like India, and it has brought with it a new set of challenges and opportunities. With the extension of the pandemic-induced lockdown in educational institutions, teachers – and other stakeholders – must adapt to this new normal of reliance on remote education.

Valuers should independently assess market value. The purpose of this article is to analyze whether the valuation behavior remains independent when commissioned by publicly listed companies in Taiwan.

This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data analysis was used to examine the estimated premium ratio and estimated divergent ratio with the independent sample t test and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. To complement and validate the quantitative analysis, open-ended questionnaires were conducted, providing additional insights into the research findings.

The results showed that there is a significant difference in estimated valuations commissioned by representatives of buyers and sellers, and the estimated premium ratios commissioned by representatives of buyers were higher than those of sellers. Furthermore, the open-ended questionnaires results indicate that these findings may be influenced by clients for less experienced appraisers. However, for senior appraisers, this is seen as an action to gain a better understanding of the valuation purpose and always within a reasonable price range. In addition, client influence is not a static factor; it may transform into the valuer's behavior as the appraiser's experience grows and deepens.

It is difficult to obtain valuation reports commissioned by representatives of both buyers and sellers for the same property transactions. In this study, data were obtained from the Market Observation Post-System (MOPS) in Taiwan. As valuation reports could not be obtained, estimated valuations and transaction prices are used to calculate estimated premium ratio and estimated divergent ratios.

Previous investigations of the client effect have been conducted using qualitative methods including questionnaire surveys, in-depth interviews and experimental design. However, these studies are subject to moral hazard. This study may be the first study that has access to data on valuations for both buyers and sellers in such a formal setting.

Technological advancements have benefited businesses all over the world in how they set up production lines, create new products/services and trade goods. Multinational corporations can communicate instantly with their distant operations by utilizing information technology tools and communication networks. Businesses have taken a significant shift and new factors have emerged which affect company's competitiveness. In case of resorting to an outsourcing option, a comprehensive approach for valuing the essential criteria is often missing. While specifically focusing on the decisions that have a huge impact on company's performance, it is crucial to pay close attention to the ways of selecting suppliers. The purpose of research is to choose the optimal manufacturing alternative from a set of possibilities.

The current research utilizes the Delphi technique for collection of vital criteria such as “quality”, “cost”, “delivery”, “warranties and claims”, “supplier profile”, “relationship and communication” and their respective sub-criteria. The purpose of research is to choose the optimal manufacturing alternative from a set of possibilities. In this regard, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique is employed.

The current research enlightens that outsourcing can yield promising beneficial results. The results highlighted that in Hi-tech public sector organizations, international alternative is found best in almost all criteria especially in vital criteria such as “Quality”, “Cost”, “Delivery”, “Supplier Profile,” etc. Similarly, in case the outsourcing is done to a Domestic alternative, still the Domestic alternative is found effective in comparison to in-house manufacturing setups. The research showed unexpected results. Because previously it was assumed that in-house manufacturing would be more beneficial. However, the current findings support the “NASA” strategy which moved toward outsourcing to private sector.

Limitations of the proposed methodology also produce opportunities for further exploration of the topic. One key limitation of the research described in this study is that the parameters and their sub-parameters interdependency were not taken under consideration. This means that quality and cost are not dependent upon each other. However, in reality quality and cost are interlinked. This means if quality is increased, cost is also increased. Similarly, for products having zero percent of re-claim, the product would have to be manufactured with high quality.

The study is advantageous for both suppliers and purchasers, in any type of businesses where decision-making problem are under consideration. This model aids suppliers in revealing, how they can expand their profile, by focusing on the current research's selection criteria. In this way alternatives profile can now be perfected. Moreover, buyers can now rank suppliers on their quality management, financial status and other essential factors in order to conduct purchasing decisions. For the decision maker, the results illustrate which critical factors to evaluate when screening suppliers by applying current model techniques.

It is obvious that nearly almost every industry is forced to look for alternatives for all of its operations if outsourcing is an option. The study's findings have major benefits for all industries with an important role in manufacturing and supply chain operations. These objectives will serve the industries well and they will be able to prioritize their alternative selection criteria based on their operations. The findings of this study can assist any organization in their selection of vendors by providing a more detailed explanation of the impact that various criteria have on the decision-making process.

To the best of authors' knowledge, no previous study has used two approaches (AHP and Delphi study) to propose a model for making manufacturing decisions with domestic, in house and international alternatives in Hi-tech public sector organizations. The model not only benefits the manufacturers for choosing suitable suppliers but also aids suppliers to build their profile in an improved fashion by focusing on the vital attributes. This research benefits managers to improve their ability to make effective purchasing decisions, and also opens new avenues for researchers to further explore such findings in other areas as well.

The aim of this paper is to provide a narrative review of previous research on tourism demand modelling and forecasting and potential future developments.

A narrative approach is taken in this review of the current body of knowledge.

Significant methodological advancements in tourism demand modelling and forecasting over the past two decades are identified.

The distinct characteristics of the various methods applied in the field are summarised and a research agenda for future investigations is proposed.

本文旨在对先前关于旅游需求建模和预测的研究进行叙述性回顾并对未来潜在发展进行展望。

本文采用叙述性回顾方法对当前知识体系进行了评论。

本文确认了过去二十年旅游需求建模和预测方法论方面的重要进展。

本文总结了该领域应用的各种方法的独特特征, 并对未来研究提出了建议。

El objetivo de este documento es ofrecer una revisión narrativa de la investigación previa sobre modelización y previsión de la demanda turística y los posibles desarrollos futuros.

En esta revisión del marco actual de conocimientos sobre modelización y previsión de la demanda turística y los posibles desarrollos futuros,se adopta un enfoque narrativo.

Se identifican avances metodológicos significativos en la modelización y previsión de la demanda turística en las dos últimas décadas.

Se resumen las características propias de los diversos métodos aplicados en este campo y se propone una agenda de investigación para futuros trabajos.