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The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

The paper introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.

The paper provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the gender differences in time poverty in two Middle East North African (MENA) countries, particularly Egypt and Tunisia, as well as examining its determinants across gender.

To this end, the authors make use of data provided by the Labor Market Panel Survey (LMPS) in Egypt (2012) and in Tunisia (2014) to estimate probit regressions to identify various determinants that explain time poverty.

The empirical findings show that the probability of time poverty, in both countries, is lower for women compared to men. In addition, the determinants of time poverty (individual, household and community variables) and their marginal effects differ across gender.

Research on the gender inequalities in time poverty and its determinants has been very limited. Additionally, the relationships between individuals’ time use and the conditions under which this might represent time poverty have not been fully studied in the literature. Moreover, most of the available studies have focused on developed countries; while studies tackling this issue in developing countries are very few. For the MENA region, in particular, this topic is totally missing in the available literature.

Electron beam is a way of radiation that can induce different reactions on polymers. The purpose of this work is to analyze the effect that the electron beam can produce on polyester fabrics.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibres were treated at 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 KGy. Later on surface modification was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Colorimetric and thermal measurements were studied too, as well as traction resistance.

Traction resistance showed no significant variations. As a result the authors could observe some changes in fabric witnesses and cristallinity increase, but no changes in traction resistance were observed. Moreover, when surface was studied, roughness was increased as oligomers moved towards fibre surface because of radiation dose.

The authors could appreciate roughness increased with radiation dose as well as yellowness and crystallinity.

The objective of this study aims at reviewing a synthesis of the economic impact of the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in an attempt to provide directions for future research. There are significant evidences of adopting a high-quality set of harmonised accounting standards (i.e. IFRS) fosters trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), financial transparency, and comparability and reduces information asymmetries. From the extensive structured review of literature using the Scopus database tool, the study reviewed 108 articles, and in particular, the topic-related 41 articles were analysed. Seven journals contribute to 39% of the articles (The Accounting Review; European Accounting Review; International Journal of Accounting; Journal of Accounting Research; Revista Espanola de Financiacion y Contabilidad; Asian Review of Accounting; and International Journal of Economics and Management). However, most of the cited journals were Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, European Accounting Review, and International Journal of Accounting (Armstrong, Barth, Jagolinzer, & Riedl, 2010; Brüggemann, Hitz, & Sellhorn, 2013; Christensen, Lee, & Walker, 2007; Daske, Hail, Leuz, & Verdi, 2008, 2013). Most of the studies did not use any theory, and most of the articles utilised quantitative approach. The study calls for future research on the theoretical impactions on the economic impact of IFRS implementation in a country-specific study, cross-country study, and global study. Future studies should also focus on the policymaking agenda for the local and international standard setters.

Contemporary businesses face rapidly evolving changes and complexities that challenge their respective managerial responses and capabilities. The natures of information and communication systems, ways of doing business, knowledge-transfer methods, diffusion channels of innovation, and industrial habitus are shifting. Additionally, methods, concepts, and frameworks to study these challenges need to be in accordance.

Many of these features characterizing the new business environment influence not only the consumer business, but also the business-to-business (B2B) sectors and their ways of functioning. Interestingly, the influence also connects domestic with international business through the global connectedness. This is particularly visible in marketing communication, as the difference between domestic and international business communication has further diminished due to digital and virtual dimensions and applications. In this new age, it is assumed that new ventures and small- and medium-sized enterprises can turn their vulnerabilities and size constraints into competitive advantages by addressing these challenges with efficient social media usage. To address this technology-enabled dimension of B2B relations, the authors present a case study illustrating how a firm advances its relationship management and communication by introducing social media instruments. The study contributes to relationship management and international marketing communication and provides new insights into the workings of social media within the B2B context.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has escalated innovation to new heights unseen, creating an evolution of innovation and corporate social responsibility (CSR), and as a result, a more Innovative CSR. With this evolution comes also the evolution of the ‘Preneur’ from social entrepreneur to corporate social entrepreneur and corporate social intrapreneur. It is therefore important to acknowledge that social entrepreneurship is not just for the social sector, or start-up entrepreneur – corporations can also be social entrepreneurs. This chapter establishes an understanding of this possibility alongside solving wicked problems and challenges, and how to provide collaborative networks and co-creation experiences to assist others on this journey. More importantly, the chapter discusses how corporates can assist millennials (and Generation Z) by funding and incubating their innovative or social enterprise idea under the umbrella of CSR strategy, until it is ready to be released to the world. The chapter is supported by academic literature and business publications with suggestions for future research opportunities.

The study aims at reviewing a synthesis of disclosure, transparency, and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) implementation in an attempt to provide directions for future research. Prior research overwhelmingly supports that the IFRS adoption or effective implementation of IFRS will enhance high-quality financial reporting, transparency, enhance the country’s investment environment, and foreign direct investment (FDI) (Dayanandan, Donker, Ivanof, & Karahan, 2016; Gláserová, 2013; Muniandy & Ali, 2012). However, some researchers provide conflicting evidence that developing countries implementing IFRS are probably not going to encounter higher FDI inflows (Gheorghe, 2009; Lasmin, 2012). It has also been argued that the IFRS adoption decreases the management earnings in countries with high levels of financial disclosure. In general, the study indicates that the adoption of IFRS has improved the financial reporting quality. The common law countries have strong rules to protect investors, strict legal enforcement, and high levels of transparency of financial information. From the extensive structured review of literature using the Scopus database tool, the study reviewed 105 articles, and in particular, the topic-related 94 articles were analysed. All 94 articles were retrieved from a range of 59 journals. Most of the articles (77 of 94) were published 2010–2018. The top five journals based on the citations are Journal of Accounting Research (187 citations), Abacus (125 citations), European Accounting Review (107 citations), Journal of Accounting and Economics (78 citations), and Accounting and Business Research (66 citations). The most-cited authors are Daske, Hail, Leuz, and Verdi (2013); Daske and Gebhardt (2006); and Brüggemann, Hitz, and Sellhorn (2013). Surprisingly, 65 of 94 articles did not utilise the theory. In particular, four theories have been used frequently: agency theory (15), economic theory (5), signalling theory (2), and accounting theory (2). The study calls for future research on the theoretical implications and policy-related research on disclosure and transparency which may inform the local and international standard setters.

Presence of refugees in our world is very common and historically admitted also. Refugees are heterogeneous as a group, many asylum seekers are relatively young, the vast majority is of working age, and increasingly more people come from countries considered crisis accumulated or unsafe. Refugee crisis is recently hindering the developmental paths of several emerging economies across the globe and therefore generates curiosity among both economists and political scientists. Under such a backdrop, findings of any substantive plausible economic reasons behind such hitherto commonly ascribed issue become crucial from the angle of policy making. Broadly speaking, here we want to examine the major cause of refugee formation and how it will affect the size of the so-called potential refugees owing to eco-political instability. To perform this, here we have used a hybrid model which entails the flavours of both dynamic game theory and rational expectations theory of macroeconomics. From such a setup and under the presence of rational expectations, we have shown that a movement from a regime of REPE to non-REPE may lead to an increase in the level of nuisance or uncertainty in the South, which in turn raises the cost of life associated with high-quality quality-differentiated product of the South and thereby increases the number of potential refugees.

Companies over the world faced several risks related to the COVID-19 crisis. However, when quoting those risks, it is common to mix up pandemic effects with general consequences of work at home or the use of electronic communication channels. At the same time, a lot of indirect effects of the crisis are not straightforward, and some consequences may only turn evident in the long term. This chapter collects different appearances and implications of the risk caused by the epidemic based on literature review, questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and expert panels with a particular emphasis on the findings from Hungary. The authors conclude that risk effects differ little across countries but rather widely across industries and individuals. The risk map presented clarifies critical connections and offers a structured overview for the first time in the literature. A better understanding of the risk effects may assist managers and regulators when another similar crisis would emerge in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the design and the multi‐mode locomotion function of the new reconfigurable modular robotic system – UBot system – which combines the advantages from the chain‐based and lattice‐based self‐reconfigurable robots.

The UBot modules the authors have designed are based on the universal joint and of cubic shape with two rotational joints and reliable automatic connecting mechanism. The modules are compact and flexible enough for locomotion and reconfiguration. The system can move in different modes to satisfy different terrains, through changing the modules' local connections and rotation of modules' joints.

The UBot system can flexibly move in the modes of cross, loop, quadruped, snake‐type and other type of locomotion modes. All the locomotion has been implemented in the physical experiments.

The UBot module is the new reconfigurable module which has two joints in one unit of regular cubic space and four reliable automatic connecting surfaces. A group of the modules is able to change its connective configuration by changing their local connections and has functionality of the corresponding traditional robotic system. Since it can travel through terrains that may not be fully characterized ahead of time, the system can be used in a large variety of tasks, such as transportation, assembly, inspection and exploration.