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1 – 10 of 65Abdul Hafaz Ngah, Nurul Izni Kamarulzaman, Saifullizam Puteh, Nurul Ain Chua Abdullah, Nur Asma Ariffin and Long Fei
The current study investigates the factors influencing graduates’ perceived employability by utilizing the stimulus-organism-response theory, in the post pandemic era.
Abstract
Purpose
The current study investigates the factors influencing graduates’ perceived employability by utilizing the stimulus-organism-response theory, in the post pandemic era.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was employed to examine the hypotheses of the research framework through partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) on the SmartPLS software.
Findings
The result indicates that course structure has a positive effect on students’ grit and community of inquiry (CoI). Also, students’ grit and CoI have a positive relationship with students’ performance, while students’ performance has a positive relationship with perceived employability. Moreover, students’ grit, CoI and students’ performance sequentially mediated course structure and perceived employability, whereas readiness and self-directed learning strengthen the relationship between students’ performance and perceived employability.
Originality/value
The findings will benefit university management, government and potential employers on how confident the student is in the chances of a future career after graduating from a higher institution.
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Ravikantha Prabhu, Sharun Mendonca, Pavana Kumara Bellairu, Rudolf Charles DSouza and Thirumaleshwara Bhat
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of titanium oxide (TiO2) filler on the abrasive wear properties of bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composites (BFRCs) using a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of titanium oxide (TiO2) filler on the abrasive wear properties of bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composites (BFRCs) using a Taguchi approach. The study aims to enhance the abrasive wear resistance of these composites by introducing TiO2 filler as a potential reinforcement, thus contributing to the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly materials.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on the fabrication of epoxy/bamboo composites infused with TiO2 particles within the Wt.% range of 0–8 Wt.% using hand layup techniques. The resulting composites were subjected to wear testing according to ASTM G99-05 standards. Statistical analysis of the wear results was carried out using the Taguchi design of experiments (DOE). Additionally, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the influential control factors impacting the specific wear rate (SWR) and coefficient of friction (COF).
Findings
The study illuminates how integrating TiO2 filler enhances abrasive wear in epoxy/bamboo composites. Statistical analysis of SWR highlights abrasive grit size (grit) as the most influential factor, followed by normal load, Wt.% of TiO2 and sliding distance. Analysis of the COF identifies normal load as the primary influential factor, followed by grit, Wt.% of TiO2 and sliding distance. The Taguchi predictive model closely aligns with experimental results, validating its reliability. The morphological study revealed significant differences between the unfilled and TiO2-filled composites. The inclusion of TiO2 improved wear resistance, as evidenced by reduced surface damage and wear debris.
Originality/value
This research paper aims to integrate TiO2 filler and bamboo fibers to create an innovative hybrid composite material. TiO2 micro and nanoparticles show promise as filler materials, contributing to improved tribological properties of epoxy composites. The utilization of Taguchi’s DOE and ANOVA for statistical analysis provides valuable guidance for academic researchers and practitioners in optimizing control variables, especially in the context of natural fiber reinforced composites.
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Shazia Faiz, Namra Mubarak and Samyia Safdar
This study aims to focus on the dual outcomes and consequences of gritty leadership, including how it encourages followers to engage proactively and, as a result, succeed in their…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on the dual outcomes and consequences of gritty leadership, including how it encourages followers to engage proactively and, as a result, succeed in their careers. On the other hand, the way it causes job stress in employees affects the overall work-life balance.
Design/methodology/approach
The snowball sampling method was used to gather data to test the dual outcomes of gritty leadership. Mid-level project employees in Rawalpindi and Islamabad provided the data.
Findings
The findings of the study indicate that gritty leadership comes with both advantages and disadvantages and adds to the development of individuals. Positive spillover effects (career success) may be created by grit leaders, and vice versa (poor work-life balance). On the bright side, gritty leadership promotes career success favorably through a proactive personality. Contrarily, gritty leadership causes job stress, which has a detrimental impact on work-life balance.
Originality/value
Thus, this study offers the explanatory mechanism by which the advantages and disadvantages of gritty leadership are manifested. The study is unique because it examines the results of gritty leadership and gives practitioners a realistic notion of the direction they should go.
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Ravikantha Prabhu, Sharun Mendonca, Pavana Kumara Bellairu, Rudolf D'Souza and Thirumaleshwara Bhat
This study explores how titanium oxide (TiO2) filler influences the specific wear rate (SWR) in flax fiber-reinforced epoxy composites (FFRCs) through a Taguchi approach. It aims…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores how titanium oxide (TiO2) filler influences the specific wear rate (SWR) in flax fiber-reinforced epoxy composites (FFRCs) through a Taguchi approach. It aims to boost abrasive wear resistance by incorporating TiO2 filler, promoting sustainable and eco-friendly materials.
Design/methodology/approach
This study fabricates epoxy/flax composites with TiO2 particles (0–8 wt%) using hand layup. Composites were tested for wear following American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) G99-05. Statistical analysis used Taguchi design of experiments (DOE), with ANOVA identifying key factors affecting SWR in abrasive sliding conditions.
Findings
The study illuminates how integrating TiO2 filler particles into epoxy/flax composites enhances abrasive wear properties. Statistical analysis of SWR highlights abrasive grit size (grit) as the most influential factor, followed by normal load, wt% of TiO2 and sliding distance. Grit size has the highest effect at 43.78%, and wt% TiO2 filler contributes 15.61% to SWR according to ANOVA. Notably, the Taguchi predictive model closely aligns with experimental results, validating its reliability.
Originality/value
This paper integrates TiO2 filler and flax fibers to form a novel hybrid composite with enhanced tribological properties in epoxy composites. The use of Taguchi DOE and ANOVA offers valuable insights for optimizing control variables, particularly in natural fiber-reinforced composites (NFRCs).
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Ravikantha Prabhu, Sharun Mendonca, Pavana Kumara Bellairu, Rudolf Charles DSouza and Thirumaleshwara Bhat
This paper aims to report the effect of titanium oxide (TiO2) particles on the physical, mechanical, tribological and water resistance properties of 5% NaOH-treated bamboo…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report the effect of titanium oxide (TiO2) particles on the physical, mechanical, tribological and water resistance properties of 5% NaOH-treated bamboo fiber–reinforced composites.
Design/methodology/approach
In this research, the epoxy/bamboo/TiO2 hybrid composite filled with 0–8 Wt.% TiO2 particles has been fabricated using simple hand layup techniques, and testing of the developed composite was done in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard.
Findings
The results of this study indicate that the addition of TiO2 particles improved the mechanical properties of the developed epoxy/bamboo composites. Tensile properties were found to be maximum for 6 Wt.%, and impact strength was found to be maximum for 8 Wt.% TiO2 particles-filled composite. The highest flexural properties were found at a lower TiO2 fraction of 2 Wt.%. Adding TiO2 filler helped to reduce the water absorption rate. The studies related to the wear and friction behavior of the composite under dry and abrasive wear conditions reveal that TiO2 filler was beneficial in improving the wear performance of the composite.
Originality/value
This research paper attempts to include both TiO2 filler and bamboo fibers to develop a novel composite material. TiO2 micro and nanoparticles are promising filler materials; it helps to enhance the mechanical and tribological properties of the epoxy composites and in literature, there is not much work reported, where TiO2 is used as a filler material with bamboo fiber–reinforced epoxy composites.
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This paper aims to comment on resilience research within the context of frontline employees in sales and services marketing.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to comment on resilience research within the context of frontline employees in sales and services marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
This commentary is a reflection based on my research, extant academic and managerial literature and personal perspectives.
Findings
Research findings show resilience is associated with increased employee effort and reduced turnover intentions in customer-facing roles. In addition, resilience can change over time and is not just a trait the employee is born with (or not). Hence, managers can cultivate resilience in employees.
Practical implications
Resilience cannot be purchased. Instead, managers can inspire resilience in frontline employees by developing their feelings of self-efficacy on the job, a sense of belongingness to the organization and peers and a sense of purpose and relatedness to customers.
Social implications
Resilience is not merely perseverance or grit; it is overcoming adversity and bouncing back to become better in the process. Thus, resilience is an important construct to study, particularly in customer-facing roles.
Originality/value
This commentary offers a unique approach to understanding resilience, its outcomes and its antecedents in customer-facing roles.
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Ibrahim Mohammed, Wassiuw Abdul Rahaman, Alexander Bilson Darku and William Baah-Boateng
This study aims to examine the association between apprenticeship training and self-employment and how gender moderates the association.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the association between apprenticeship training and self-employment and how gender moderates the association.
Design/methodology/approach
Secondary data from the World Bank’s Skills Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) survey on Ghana were analysed using a binary choice (logit regression) model. The STEP survey drew its nationally representative sample from the working-age population (15–64 years) in urban areas.
Findings
After controlling for several factors identified in the literature as determinants of self-employment, the results indicate that completing apprenticeship training increases the likelihood of being self-employed. However, women who have completed apprenticeship training are more likely to be self-employed than men.
Originality/value
By examining the moderating effect of gender on the association between apprenticeship training and self-employment, this study has offered new evidence that policymakers can use to promote self-employment, especially among women, to reduce the entrepreneurial gap between men and women.
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Karen M. Peesker, Lynette J. Ryals and Peter D. Kerr
The digital transformation is dramatically changing the business-to-business (B2B) sales environment, challenging long-standing views regarding the critical competencies required…
Abstract
Purpose
The digital transformation is dramatically changing the business-to-business (B2B) sales environment, challenging long-standing views regarding the critical competencies required of salespeople. This paper aims to explore the personal traits associated with sales performance in a digital selling environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Using template analysis, the researchers captured and coded over 21 h of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with senior sales leaders from various industry sectors, exploring their perceptions of the personal traits now required of B2B salespeople in the digital landscape.
Findings
The research identifies three high-level trait types critical to sales success within a digital selling environment: “analytical curiosity” – the natural motivation and ability to gather and synthesize sales-related knowledge, “empathetic citizenship” – the ability to establish initial rapport while building long-term trust and “disciplined drive” – the exertion of selling effort in a highly focused and methodical manner across all stages of the sales process.
Research limitations/implications
The present data came from interviews with sales leaders in Canada. A more global sample may lead to additional insights. Moreover, the sample was drawn from long-cycle B2B sales environments; conclusions may differ for short-cycle or business-to-consumer markets.
Practical implications
This paper presents a framework for hiring and developing salespeople in the digital sales environment, identifying personal trait types that sales leaders should look for when hiring: analytical curiosity, empathetic citizenship and disciplined drive. The paper identifies how these trait types influence sales success, suggesting that sales leaders could coach and educate their teams to make the best use of them.
Originality/value
This paper presents a conceptual framework for hiring in the digital sales environment and introduces the trait of analytical curiosity not previously discussed in the literature.
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Nicola Sum, Reshmi Lahiri-Roy and Nish Belford
Identity, positioning and possibilities intersect differently for South Asian women in white academia. Within a broader migrant community that defines Australian life, these…
Abstract
Purpose
Identity, positioning and possibilities intersect differently for South Asian women in white academia. Within a broader migrant community that defines Australian life, these identities and positioning imply great possibility, but pursuing such pathways within academia is a walk on the last strand of resilience. This paper explores this tension of possibilities and constraints, using hope theory to highlight the cognitive resistance evident in the narratives of three South Asian women in Australian academia.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use collaborative autoethnography to share their narratives of working in Australian universities at three different stages of careers, utilising Snyder's model of hope theory to interrogate their own goal-setting behaviours, pathways and agentic thinking.
Findings
The authors propose that hope as a cognitive state informs resistance and enables aspirations to contribute within academia in meaningful ways whilst navigating the terrain of inequitable structures.
Originality/value
The authors' use of hope theory as a lens on the intersectional experiences of career making, building and progression is a new contribution to scholarship on marginalised women in white academe and the ways in which the pathways of resistance are identified.
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Vidya Rao and Rama Devi Nandineni
Mainstream narratives in Indian history do not delve into the checkered history of the west coast. The reasons for this are many, including a predominantly center-outwards…
Abstract
Purpose
Mainstream narratives in Indian history do not delve into the checkered history of the west coast. The reasons for this are many, including a predominantly center-outwards viewpoint of historians. West coast has always been open to sea route influences aiding its diversity. However, the lack of natural defense against colonizers from the sea destroyed indigenous and personal heritage. Small town narratives include uprooting, lack of access to past heritage and new settlement creation. The heritage of this everyday landscape shaped by human grit is the subject of the study.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative ethnographic study includes document analysis, transect walking, architectural built form study, open interviews and participatory observations.
Findings
The motivations for heritage management can be grouped into economic, cultural and technological. From a financial point of view, the urban core studied is still relevant and sustainable. Likewise, the Krishna temple dominates the cultural discussion and architectural documentation as a religious center. However, the cultural heritage of business streets and the third motivation of building technology have been largely ignored. This disregard is evident from neglect and the pastiche use of monumental or ornamental styles alien to the region for restoration efforts.
Social implications
“Heritage is personal and individual as well as collective and universal” (Mire, 2016). The Pete heritage is not just crucial for the communities they house but the town as a whole. Their nonimpervious nature means that they hold collective memories for everyone. Attention to memories and monuments will increase the possibilities of shared responsibility between various stakeholders (Swenson et al., 2012). Therefore, they should be seen as a part of the larger whole.
Originality/value
This paper argues for the recent global bottom-up approach in heritage management rather than the conventional established practices. Established heritage management focuses on the mainstream, royal or specific ethnic heritage in the Indian subcontinent. The heritage of the common person rarely has the grandeur of monumental architecture taken up for preservation by the state. As a result, societies' individual and collective heritage are at risk of rapid erasure under the pressures of modernization. Built forms are repositories of cultural information; therefore, a sustainable instrument for the preservation of everyday heritage can be created with culture as an actuator. This study looks at the narrative of the historical coastal small-town business core created by internal mass migration due to colonization.
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