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This study aims to represent a successful simple method for the synthesis of some novel dyes based on thiazole derivatives and their applications in textile printing.

2-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-ylmethyl)thiazol-4(5H)-one compound is prepared by convention heating and microwave technique then used as a coupling agent, which reacts with different diazonium Salt to form diazo dyes.

The synthesized diazo dyes are confirmed via spectral data (IR,1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and Mass spectra). The dyes are used to print polyester fabric. The obtained results clarified that the prints have good color strength, brilliant color and highly durable antibacterial activity.

The authors designed efficient synthesis for some novel thiazolone dyes. The novel procedure features short-reaction time, very good yields and a simple workup. The authors studied the antibacterial activity and their application in printing polyester fabrics.

This chapter investigates the behavior of Reddit’s news subreddit users and the relationship between their sentiment on exchange rates. Using graphical models and natural language processing, hidden online communities among Reddit users are discovered. The data set used in this project is a mixture of text and categorical data from Reddit’s news subreddit. These data include the titles of the news pages, as well as a few user characteristics, in addition to users’ comments. This data set is an excellent resource to study user reaction to news since their comments are directly linked to the webpage contents. The model considered in this chapter is a hierarchical mixture model which is a generative model that detects overlapping networks using the sentiment from the user generated content. The advantage of this model is that the communities (or groups) are assumed to follow a Chinese restaurant process, and therefore it can automatically detect and cluster the communities. The hidden variables and the hyperparameters for this model are obtained using Gibbs sampling.

This study aims to improve the market competitiveness of iron and steel manufacturers in developing countries by reducing their production costs.

The research methodology relies on a case study-based approach. The study relies on six steps. The first is the preparation, then the five steps of the six-sigma – define, measure, analyze, improve, control. The qualitative and quantitative data were considered. The qualitative analysis relies on the experts’ judgment of internal status. The quantitative analysis uses the job floor data from three iron and steel manufacturers. After collecting, screening and analyzing the data, the root causes of the different wastes were identified that increase production costs. Consequently, lean manufacturing principles and tools are identified and prioritized using the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method, and then implemented to reduce the different types of waste.

The main wastes are related to inventory, time, quality and workforce. The lean tools were proposed with the implementation plan for the discovered root causes. The performance was monitored during and after the implementation of the lean initiatives in one of the three companies. The obtained results showed an increase in some performance indicators such as throughput (70.6%), revenue from by-products (459%), inventory turnover (54%), operation availability (45%), and plant availability (41%). On the other hand, results showed a decrease of time delay (78%), man-hour/ton (52.4%) and downgraded products (63.3%).

The current case study findings can be utilized by Iron and Steel factories at the developing countries. In addition, the proposed lean implementation methodology can be adopted for any other industries.

The current work introduces an original and practical road map to implement the lean six-sigma body of knowledge in the iron and steel manufacturers.

This work introduces an effective and practical case study-based approach to implementing the lean six-sigma body of knowledge in the iron and steel manufacturers in one of the underdevelopment countries. The consideration of the opinion of the different engineers from different sectors shows significant identification of the major problems in the manufacturing and utility sectors that lead to significant performance improvement after solving them.

This research aims to investigate the effects of e-service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The moderating effects of web design and trust in the relationship between e-service quality and customer satisfaction are also explored.

A conceptual model involving various dimensions of e-service quality, customer satisfaction, loyalty, price perception and web design is developed, and hypothesized relationships are tested using Hayes’s PROCESS macros. A survey instrument and data from 650 respondents who are regular e-buyers from the southern part of India are used.

The results indicate that e-service quality positively relates to customer satisfaction and loyalty. The findings also suggest that price perception and trust are vital in enhancing customer satisfaction. Further, the indirect effect of e-service quality on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction is supported. Finally, web design (first moderator) and trust (second moderator) significantly influence the relationship between e-service quality and customer satisfaction.

This research underscores the importance of e-service quality, web design, and trust in influencing customer satisfaction. Based on the findings from this study, e-retailers are suggested to discover the methods of building and improving customer trust and create a web design that is appealing to the customer to enhance satisfaction and loyalty. Some of the limitations of this study include common method bias and social desirability bias. However, the authors have taken adequate care to minimize these biases.

This paper used the e-service quality model and investigated the consequences of e-service quality during the post-pandemic new normal period in a developing country (India). The double moderation of web design and trust is a novel idea that previous researchers have not explored to the best of the authors' knowledge and makes a significant contribution to service marketing. In addition to providing resounding evidence of direct relationships, the three-way interaction investigated in this study makes this study unique and pivotal.

Pakistan is predominantly a cash-based economy, with consumers showing several traits ranging from low confidence on the electronic commerce security, poor access to banking, absence of widespread awareness of e-payments and other religious and psychological barriers to adopting alternatives to cash. This study aims to examine e-payment modes in Pakistan with respect to their impact on supplier and consumer behaviour before and during the pandemic times.

The research follows a qualitative approach. Focus groups and interviews are conducted to carry out an in-depth analysis of consumer and supplier behaviour.

The findings show that customers are not satisfied with the current e-commerce system in Pakistan, whereas though producers prefer prepayments, they are forced to rely on cash on delivery. However, due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak, consumers are going cashless to avoid physical cash and observe safety protocols. To convert this temporary and enforced patronage of online transactions into a long-term and sustainable one, massive marketing and a combined effort from the government, private bodies and financial institutions is required.

The study was conducted using online interviews which has the drawback of connection issues, delays and lags in the connectivity, and hence may lead to miss important gestures for data analysis.

This research can be of benefit to online consumers and the supplier side of the online retail industry, by providing them with insight into the various factors that affect consumer behaviour towards e-commerce payment options. An understanding of the behavioural motivators of consumers will allow e-retailers in developing more marketing strategies that are effective, to improve the satisfaction level of their customers and contribute to the development of Pakistan’s e-commerce sector into a globally competitive one.

The purpose of this paper is to obtain a general solution to the field equations of generalized thermo-diffusion in an infinite thermoelastic body under the effect of gravity in the context of the dual-phase-lag (DPL) model. The half space is considered made of an isotropic homogeneous thermoelastic material. The boundary plane surface is heated by a non-Gaussian laser beam.

An exact solution to the problem is obtained using the normal mode analysis.

The derived expressions are computed numerically for copper and the results are presented in graphical form.

Comparisons are made with the results predicted by Lord-Shulman theory and DPL model for different values of time and in the presence and absence of gravity as well as diffusion.

The incorporation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability is essential for higher education institutions' (HEIs') future development as they deal with more societal and environmental concerns. The current status of research on CSR and sustainability in HEIs is examined in this systematic review, which also identifies major themes and trends for future development. This review emphasizes the complex characteristics of CSR and sustainability in the higher education environment, spanning aspects like university's social responsibility (education, community engagement, research, and internal management and organization), Sustainable Development Goal (environment, social, and economic), student's perceived self-efficacy, students' intention to implement sustainability, students' engagement for sustainability. It does this by assessing a wide range of scientific works. Additionally, it reveals the advantages and disadvantages of applying CSR and sustainability strategies in HEIs. The results highlight the significance of all-encompassing initiatives that cover governance, accountability, and openness in order to promote a sustainability culture inside HEIs. The paper ends with suggestions for further study, highlighting the necessity of interdisciplinary methods and successful collaborations to promote CSR and sustainability initiatives in HEIs and consequently contribute to sustainable development generally.

To explore the use of power ultrasound as an environmentally friendly heating technology for the pre‐treatment of linen fibres with sodium perborate as the halogen free oxidising agent and to study the impact of this process on its dyeability with reactive dyes.

Exploiting power ultrasound in the wet processes of linen fibres was made in two steps, i.e. ultrasonic pre‐treatment with sodium perborate followed by ultrasonic dyeing with reactive dyes. Therefore, comparative studies between conventional and ultrasonic techniques as well as the different factors that may affect these processes were investigated. The effect of the pre‐treatment on fibre fine structure using X‐ray diffraction technique was also investigated.

The results of the increase of whiteness index indicate that ultrasonic pre‐treatment was better at all studied treatment times and at low temperature. X‐ray diffraction studies on blank, ultrasonically and conventionally pre‐treated linen fibres have shown 70.41, 67.51 and 64.90 per cent crystallinity, respectively. The dyeing of the pre‐treated fibres with Reactive Red 24 was simultaneously carried out under both ultrasonic and conventional heating conditions to study the effect of dye concentrations at different dyeing temperatures. The colour strength values obtained for the dyed samples using ultrasonic at 50°C were slightly higher than those obtained using conventional heating at 80°C. Ultrasonic enhancement in the pre‐treatment and dyeing in terms of the percent increase of colour strength of the dyed fabric was estimated to be 157.94 per cent higher than that of conventional heating method. The results of wet fastness properties of the dyed fibres using ultrasonic revealed improvement relative to those obtained using conventional heating method.

The improved wet processes of linen fibres suggest further investigation to exploit power ultrasound in the wet processes of cellulosic fibres at low temperature using different classes of halogen free bleaching agents and dyeing with different classes of heat‐requiring reactive dyes. Also, this work may inspire the synthesis of new generation of heat‐requiring reactive dyes.

The work presented has significant potential industrial application for cleaner production in textile industries.

The present study of linen pre‐treatment with non‐toxic total chlorine free oxidising agent and its dyeability with reactive dyes using power ultrasound is novel and could be used in the wet processes of linen fibres.

The paper provides a step-by-step guide in the guise of a roadmap for service improvement initiatives using importance performance map analysis (IPMA).

To empirically illustrate how IPMA can be applied to any service industry, three sectors are considered; sports and fitness (study A), hospitality (study B) and higher education (study C). Following the proper selection of measuring instruments and their evaluation using structural equation modeling-partial least squares (Smart-PLS), IPMA is applied to identify those attributes having strong total effects (high importance) over the targeted construct (satisfaction) but which also have low average latent variable scores (low performance).

For sports and fitness (study A), the physical aspects and programme quality require managerial attention. For the hospitability sector (study B), it is service commitment, interaction quality and internal sense of happiness. Whereas for higher education (study C), it is administrative quality as well as the element of transformative quality, namely the university’s role in adding to its students’ emotional stability, which needs the attention of the top management.

This study provides researchers and practitioners with a roadmap for applying PLS-SEM and IPMA for continuous service quality improvement. The roadmap extends upon Ringle and Sarstedt’s (2016) work. It highlights critical decisions that need to be considered in the pre-analytical stages of the IPMA application, i.e. at the research design phase in selecting the most appropriate service quality measurement model specifications. It not only contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing empirical evidence to advance theory development in the quality management field but also has implications for the practitioners in any service sector on where to focus their attention for an effective service improvement.

This paper aims to examine the foreign exchange (FX) risk effects of cash flow hedge accounting (HA). To the extent the HA qualification criteria and detailed documentation give investors confidence that FX derivatives effectively hedge risk, market-assigned FX risk premiums will be lower for firms using cash flow HA.

Probit analyses rely on the HA designation to examine the decision to use cash flow HA. Primary analyses test the hypothesized relationship between the magnitude of FX risk premiums and such HA use. Additional analyses allow for the interaction between cash flow HA use and the extent of FX derivatives use.

Hypothesis tests indicate that the magnitude of the FX risk premium is, on average, lower for firms designated as effective cash flow hedgers. In additional tests, the evidence suggests that the market assigns a lower FX risk premium to firms using a higher level of FX derivatives as effective cash flow hedges.

The findings suggest that cash flow HA provides risk-relevant information to investors. Such positive effects of HA on investors’ understanding of risk management may guide US accounting regulators in their efforts to improve HA. Corporate treasurers also may benefit from these insights into evaluating the use of HA.

Responding to the call for research on the risk relevance of cash flow HA, this paper merges the HA literature with the FX risk management literature to directly examine the relationship between HA use and FX risk premiums for manufacturing firms. The authors take an innovative approach using FX rates to which each firm is most exposed and provide evidence consistent with the argument that this approach is helpful in understanding both the decision to use cash flow HA and the effect of such HA use on market-assigned FX risk premiums.