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The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of engine operating conditions and lubricant friction modifier on direct acting tappet rotation. In this research work, novel method of measuring engine tappet rotation speed has been developed. The technique is so novel. It allows the measurement on real production engine with no modification to the engine tappet bore. Also, In this paper, the effect of engine operating conditions and the effectiveness of friction modifier on tappet rotation is reported.

For the very first time, for the purpose of measuring follower rotation in a real production engine, a 4 × 6 mm2 electronic chip called Gradiometer is mounted outside the tappet housing, allowing the monitoring of tappet rotation speed without the need to machine a hole in the tappet bore. This novel technique is adopted on Mercedes Benz OM464 engine to study the effect of engine conditions and lubricant chemistry on tappet performance.

The main outcome of this research work is the development of novel method of measuring tappet rotation. Also, during the experiments, it was revealed that although friction modifiers help in reducing friction at the cam/tappet interface, they can also adversely affect the tappet rotation speed.

The novel technique developed in the research work is one of the most cost effective and simple to use. Researches can adopt the technique to study the tribological performance of direct acting tappet on real production engine. Researches acknowledge the effectiveness of friction modifiers in valve train but its effect on rotation which plays a key role in the component durability has not been the focus of most of the researches mainly due to lack of effective techniques.

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the social information processing theory, which is extended by the (1) effect of whistleblowing education on whistleblowing intentions, (2) simultaneous examination of the indirect relationship between whistleblowing education and whistleblowing intentions via moral identity and (3) relativism in influencing this mediation.

Multi-wave data collected at three internals from bank employees (n = 294) were analyzed to test the proposed model.

Results of the study demonstrate that whistleblowing education favorably influences whistleblowing intentions directly as well as through moral identity. Relativism serves as the buffer in the indirect effects of whistleblowing education on whistleblowing intentions through moral identity attenuating these indirect effects in individuals with dominant relativism level.

This study strives to extend the whistleblowing education and whistleblowing intentions literature by unpacking a moral identity mechanism through which whistleblowing education kindles whistleblowing intention and relativism as boundary condition to attenuate such motivation.

This study aims to examine the impact of terrorism on return and systematic risk of Pakistan’s equity industries. Daily data from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2014 for 12 industries based on the specific types of companies listed on Karachi Stock Exchange are used for the empirical analysis.

A multiplicative (additive) term is introduced in the standard capital asset pricing model to examine the change in systematic risk (industry returns) in response to the terrorist activities. The authors use the multiscale beta approach (Yamada, 2005) and the maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT) to test the heterogeneous market hypothesis.

Terrorism activities increase the systematic risk for most of the industries and the negative impact on returns of banks and the financial industry. It is noted that terrorism positively impacts (increases) the industrial systematic risk mainly in short-run (between two and four days-time horizon).

The paper examines the impact of terrorism on a broad list of industries’ (banks, basic materials, chemicals, construction, consumer goods, consumer services, financials, industrials, minerals, oil and gas, textile and utilities) risk and return in Pakistan, using the multiscale beta approach (Yamada, 2005) and the MODWT methods.

This article aims to highlight the stigmatization attached to the unemployment of educated youth in rural regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

The study explicates the subjective experiences of the youth as being unemployed and societal attitudes toward them through an in-depth qualitative approach. A total of 30 unemployed male individuals were interviewed through an interview guide.

The study reveals that unemployed individuals are stigmatized and discriminately treated. They experience the difference in social support from their family and friends during unemployment, which is a discouraging aspect. This finding is in contrast to the existing literature on the subject in which family and friends are described as a major source of social support. As the study is conducted in the rural context, it is observed that local factors coupled with the joint family system have intensified negative attitudes toward the unemployed youth. Subsequently, the negative societal treatment serves as a factor for psychological challenges in their lives.

This article serves the need of exploring the experiences of unemployed individuals precisely in the Pakistani context.

Perception of organizational politics is one of the key factors of the organization's performance. Based on the principles of Game Theory, this study aims to examine the impact of management's and employee's politics within an organization on the psychological and organizational stress levels of workers, followed by their task and contextual performance.

Following the non-probability convenience sampling technique, the data was collected from the managerial and non-managerial staff of public, private and semi-government services organizations in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Abbottabad and Karachi cities in Pakistan.

The structural analyses indicate that organizational politics is a major cause of stress among workers and has a significant positive impact on the psychological and organizational stress of workers. Moreover, both organizational politics and job stress hinder workers' performance.

The findings of the current research provide valuable insights into the management of firms about the destructive role of politics with a special focus on psychological and organizational stress, followed by job and contextual performance, particularly in the context of Pakistan. It also proposes strategies to counter this issue, improving worker's performance. Furthermore, the findings also suggest whether management or employees are more involved in organizational politics.

Compact and wideband antennas are the need of modern wireless systems that preferably work with compact, low-profile and easy-to-install devices that provide a wider coverage of operating frequencies. The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel compact and ultrawideband (UWB) microstrip patch antenna intended for high frequency wireless applications.

A square microstrip patch antenna was initially modeled on finite element method-based electromagnetic simulation tool high frequency structure simulator. It was then loaded with a rectangular slit and Koch snowflake-shaped fractal notches for bandwidth enhancement. The fabricated prototype was tested by using vector network analyzer from Agilent Technologies, N5247A, Santa Clara, California, United States (US).

The designed Koch fractal patch antenna is highly compact with dimensions of 10 × 10 mm only and possesses UWB characteristics with multiple resonances in the operating band. The −10 dB measured impedance bandwidth was observed to be approximately 13.65 GHz in the frequency range (23.20–36.85 GHz).

Owing to its simple and compact structure, positive and substantial gain values, high radiation efficiency and stable radiation patterns throughout the frequency band of interest, the proposed antenna is a suitable candidate for high frequency wireless applications in the K (18–27 GHz) and Ka (26.5–40 GHz) microwave bands.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between students’ use of social media, their academic performance and creativity in the digital era.

This research used a survey strategy for collecting primary data required for this study from 334 students of undergraduate programs at Chinese universities who were sampled through a non-probability convenience approach.

The findings of the study reveal that students’ use of social media is positively associated with students’ academic performance and creativity. In addition, intrinsic motivation was found to be a mediating reason in the relationships between students’ use of social media and students’ academic performance and creativity.

This study explored an important role of intrinsic motivation as a mediator in the relationships between students’ use of social media and their positive outcomes. Studying the use of social media by students to their positive study outcomes is also practically important for students, educationalists and other policymakers.

This study aims to examine the role of shared leadership (SL) practices in improving team performance (TP) in health-care producer organizations by mediating the roles of intellectual capital (IC) and team learning (TL).

Conceptual model was proposed using social learning theory and resource-based view theory. The structured questionnaire was administered to respondents of Pakistani health-care producer organizations using a cross-sectional approach. Data was collected from 23 team leaders and 203 team members from 23 different teams. PLS-structural equation modeling was applied to SmartPLS 3.2.9.

The findings revealed that SL and IC are positively associated with TP, while TL has no association with TP. Further, SL is positively associated with IC and TL. This study also found that IC significantly mediates between SL and TP. Still, no mediating role of TL between SL and TP was found.

The findings suggest health-care producer organizations adopt shared leader practices where team members are given a say in decision-making to boost their morale, leading to effective TP.

The conceptual model was created using social learning and resource-based view theories. This is an early attempt to examine the role of SL in health-care producer organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between technology orientations and export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

A quantitative research design was adopted for this study. The paper formulates hypotheses from the literature review. These hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling with data collected from 231 SMEs in Uganda. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 and AMOS.

The findings of this study showed technology orientation has a positive and significant relationship with the performance of Ugandan SMEs and that supply chain agility moderates technology orientation and export performance.

The study discusses the findings, advances limitations and managerial implications. It also suggests future research avenues. It proposes some recommendations to help Ugandan SMEs to form flexible supply chains, use the latest technology and create strong relationship ties with their partners in the supply chain.

The study suggests that managers of Ugandan SMEs should use the latest technology in production, marketing, logistics and supply chain management which will enable them to respond quickly to customer tastes and preferences leading to higher levels of export performance.

This study contributes to the literature on strategic management showing the reliability of scales used and the confirmatory of the factor structure. This study shows that in strategic management technology, orientation is critical in increasing export performance. This study has extended the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities theories.

The present study investigates the connection between company investments in intellectual capital (IC) and how they translate into financial value. The aim is to test the impact of intangible assets on the firm value and its sustainable growth.

The research employs computation models to determine the sustainable growth rate (SGR) and the firm value (FV), and by using the ordinary least squares (OLS) model through a linear regression assesses the relationship between the dependent variables and expenditures on intangibles like R&D, IT programs and patents. A sample of 42 companies has been selected out of the 78 listed at Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE), based on the appropriateness of the information disclosed in the financial reports for the period 2016–2019.

The results show that intangibles classified as innovative competences (R&D and Patents) do not have a positive impact on SGR and FV in listed companies from Romania. Moreover, R&D has a negative and significant effect on FV, while IT Programs have a positive and significant impact on FV, but not on the SGR. Variables categorised as economic competencies (Brands, Shares held in associates and jointly controlled entities) and firm structure-specific variables (Leverage, Firm Performance) seem to have a significant effect on SGR and FV. Shares held in associates and jointly controlled entities is the variable that can have the biggest impact when it comes to FV for companies listed at BSE.

Due to non-disclosure of specific information by some companies, or lack of investments in intangibles the sample had to be reduced and does not cover all listed companies.

Companies listed on the Regulated Market from the Bucharest Stock Exchange should maintain their scale of liabilities at a reasonable level when financing intangible assets in order to ensure corporate long-term and sustainable development. Also, these companies should maintain awareness about the importance of intangible assets and invest more in specific sub-components, in order to sustain competitive advantage. Recognizing the roles of intangibles, managers need to develop strategies to invest in profitable intangibles by reasonably allocating their limited resources, in order to achieve sustainable growth and increase company success.

Studies concerning the relation between investments in intangibles and sustainable growth rate and firm value of listed Romanian companies are very scarce. This paper reveals new research, never before undertaken, concerning expenditures on intangibles by Romanian companies and the valuation of such investments on Bucharest Stock Exchange.