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In this paper, a novel hybrid approach aimed at solving the problem of cross-selectivity of gases in electronic nose (E-nose) using the combination classifiers of support vector machine (SVM) and k-nearest neighbors (KNN) methods was proposed.

First, three WO₃ sensors E-nose system was used for data acquisition to detect three gases, namely, ozone, ethanol and acetone. Then, two transient parameters, derivate and integral, were extracted for each gas response. Next, the principal component analysis (PCA) was been applied to extract the most relevant sensor data and dimensionality reduction. The new coordinates calculated by PCA were used as inputs for classification by the SVM method. Finally, the classification achieved by the KNN method was carried out to calculate only the support vectors (SVs), not all the data.

This work has proved that the proposed fusion method led to the highest classification rate (100 per cent) compared to the accuracy of the individual classifiers: KNN, SVM-linear, SVM-RBF, SVM-polynomial that present, respectively, 89, 75.2, 80 and 79.9 per cent as classification rate.

The authors propose a fusion classifier approach to improve the classification rate. In this method, the extracted features are projected into the PCA subspace to reduce the dimensionality. Then, the obtained principal components are introduced to the SVM classifier and calculated SVs which will be used in the KNN method.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between financial reporting quality and information environment (IE) in firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

In this study, composite measures were used as the proxy to measure financial reporting quality and IE. In this regard, a sample of 1,490 firm-year observations of the firms listed on the TSE during the years 2008 to 2017 and a multivariate regression model was used to examine the research hypothesis.

Findings indicate that financial reporting quality has a positive relationship with firms’ IE. This result is robust to the alternate measure of financial reporting quality and endogeneity problem.

The present study is the first study to develop a composite measure for the firms’ IE in the Iranian capital market. As a result, it not only expands the theoretical literature on the firms’ IE but also helps policymakers, regulators, investors and financial reporting users make informed decisions.

The study seeks to examine the effect of the Covid-19 on organisational commitment with the mediating role of job satisfaction of Iraqi auditors to determine the impact the Corona has on the organisational commitment of Iraqi auditors with the mediating role of job satisfaction.

The study's statistical population consists of those auditors working in the auditing organisations and private sector auditing institutions in Iraq. The number of respondents was 1,500 and 305 questionnaires were collected and analysed using Cochran's formula. Data were collected using the Covid1-19 questionnaire developed by the researcher, Minnesota Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (1967) and Allen and Meyer (1990) Organisational Commitment Questionnaire. In this study, the components of individual fear, collective fear and the transition from a feeling of security to insecurity with 29 questions for the impact of Covid-19 and job satisfaction components derived from the Minnesota Model, which includes six components (payment system, nature of job, progress opportunities, organisational atmosphere, leadership style and physical condition) is based on 19 questions. The components of organisational commitment are based on three types of emotional commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment with 24 questions. Structural equation modelling using Smart-PLS software was used to analyse the data.

The results showed that the Covid-19 effect variable was not significant on organisational commitment but was significant considering the mediating role of job satisfaction.

The paper has covered a very interesting topic nowadays and the results may give great insight to auditors in a challenging condition due to COVID 19.

Nowadays, communications, products, services and costs are customized through the internet technology. The main theory to continue competitiveness in the organizations is customer relationship management (CRM). CRM enables organizations to efficiently interact with customers and gather, store and examine their data for providing a complete view of them. On the other hand, the subject of cloud computing has increasingly become the bridge for the success of the CRM implementation. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of cloud computing (new cloud facility, knowledge of information technology (IT), cloud security and cost) on the success of CRM systems.

The model and the questioners-based data are analyzed using the Smart PLS 3.0. The data were gathered based on 80 employees of three main agricultural companies in Iran.

The obtained results have indicated that all of the considered factors, new cloud facilities, knowledge of IT, cloud security and cost, play an important role in CRM systems’ success. Also, the evaluation and examination of the consistency and validity of the model are performed through the structural equation model.

First, the authors have conducted a study in a single region. It cannot be guaranteed that the results can be generalized to other regions. Second, for this cross-sectional study, the research design was conducted that showed constant relationships between variables. The research done for this study is cross-sectional. Third, because of time and financial restrictions, the authors have gathered data using a sample from a single location.

Proposing a new model for investigating of the impact of cloud computing (new cloud facility, knowledge of Information Technology (IT), cloud security and cost) on the success of CRM systems is the main originality of this paper.

A review of previous studies on the voices of employees and knowledge workers clarifies that paying attention to employees' voice is critical in human resource management. However, limited studies have been conducted on it, and much less emphasis has been placed compared to other human resource management activities such as human resource planning. Therefore, the voice of knowledge employees has been one of the critical issues that have attracted a great deal of attention recently. Nonetheless, there is no evidence of various comprehensive and integrated voice mechanisms. As a result, this study aims to design knowledge workers' voice patterns in knowledge-based companies specialising in information and communication technology (ICT) in Iran in May and June 2020.

This study is a qualitative grounded theory research. We collected the data from a target sample of 15 experts in knowledge-based ICT companies using in-depth semi-structured interviews. Since all the participants had practised the employee voice process, they were regarded as useful data sources. Data analysis was also performed using three-step coding (open, axial and selective) by Atlas T8, which eventually led to identifying 14 components and 38 selected codes. We placed identified components in a paradigm model, including Personality Characteristics, Job Factors, Economic Factors, Cultural Factors, Organisational Policies, Organisational Structure, Climate Of Voice in the Organisation, Management Factors, Emotional Events, Communications and Networking, Contrast and Conflict and, etc. Then, the voice pattern of the knowledge staff was drawn.

The results showed that constructive knowledge voice influences the recognition of environmental opportunities and, additionally, it helps the competitive advantages among the employees. By forming the concept of knowledge staff voice, it can be concluded that paying attention to knowledge staff voice leads to presenting creative solutions to do affairs in critical situations. The presentation of these solutions by knowledge workers results in the acceptance of environmental changes, recognition and exploitation of new chances and ideas, and sharing experiences in Iranian knowledge-based companies.

Strengthening and expanding the voice of employees in knowledge-oriented companies can pave the way to growth and development towards a higher future that prevents the waste of tangible and intangible assets.

Companies' ability to engage in knowledge workers is a vital factor in human resource management and strategic management. However, the employee voice has not been involved integrally in the context of corporate.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on dividend policy in the French context. In addition, the authors seek to determine if the individual components of CSR influence dividend policy.

This study uses panel data methodology for a sample of French non-financial firms between 2008 and 2018. Generalized least squares method is used to estimate the models.

Using panel data methodology for a sample of 825 observations for the period 2008–2018, this study finds a positive impact of CSR practices on dividend policy. The authors also find that individual components of CSR positively influence dividend policy. To check the robustness of the results, this study further runs a sensitivity tests, including an alternative measure of dividend policy, all of which confirm the findings.

This study has examined the impact of CSR on dividend policy in France and may have implications for regulatory, investors, analysts and academics. First, the involvement in CSR best practices encourages companies to pay more dividends to investors. Therefore, investors are more motivated to invest in socially responsible firms than socially irresponsible firms. Second, given the association of CSR with the quality of accounting information and financial markets, regulators should step up recommendations relating to the different societal dimensions of CSR.

While little previous work has focused on the causal link between CSR and dividend policy, this research is the first, to the authors’ knowledge, to have looked at the impact of CSR on dividend policy in France.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of corporate governance on the impact of earnings management on dividend policy.

In this paper, the authors selected French non-financial companies listed on the CAC All Tradable index during the 2008–2015 period. Feasible generalized least square regression method is used to estimate the econometric models.

The empirical results allowed the authors to confirm and/or reject certain hypotheses. First, the ownership concentration seems to positively moderate the impact of earnings management on dividend policy. Another conclusion that the authors have been able to draw is that the effect of earnings management on dividend policy is more favorable in the case of firms with a small director’s board.

Our results have shown that French firms run earnings to inform the market that they can distribute dividends. Therefore, we recommend that the various partners of the firm pay more attention to the governance mechanisms of these types of companies and, in particular, in countries where foreign investors suffer from weak legal protection (Easterbrook, 1984; Gomes, 2000; La Porta et al., 2000 and Athari et al., 2016). In fact, standardization bodies, the Ministry of Finance, external auditors and stock exchange organizer must focus on sophisticated governance mechanisms to ensure better quality of financial reporting.

To our knowledge, no other research has examined whether the impact of earnings management on dividend policy varies significantly with the moderating effect of certain governance mechanisms in France.

There is a dearth of research on unwed young pregnant Malaysian women and mothers’ coping strategy and resilience in the context of limited social support they received. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the prediction of mental health by coping, social support, and resilience among unwed young Malaysian pregnant women and mothers.

Quantitative data of two assessments from respondents aged 11 to 32 years during their stay in shelter homes have been analyzed.

The result from the longitudinal study found that the variability in mental health scores could be explained between 14 percent for depressive-behavioral symptoms and 36 percent for general health. The mental health scores from the first assessment were part of the regression equation with the highest standardized β scores. Cross-sectional, the variance in the three independent variable sets explained between 6 percent (general health) and 23 percent (cognitive depressive symptoms) of the variance in the various mental health scores with different variables of significant standardized β scores in the regression equation. The study also found there were no significant changes in social support, resilience and coping between the first and second assessments even if the respondents had been in the shelter homes for a period of time.

The study highlighted the issue of mental health among Malaysian unwed mothers during residential periods in shelter homes. As the subject of unwed mothers is considered taboo, their rights are often deprived or overlooked.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between environmental performance and management and company valuation. With a specific focus on company valuation, this study shows how a firm’s environmental activities, including its environmental management practices, are perceived and valued by its stockholders.

Newsweek’s green ranking data between 2014 and 2016 were used to support this analysis. Environmental performances and environmental management practices of 345 Fortune 500 companies from various industries were included in the data set.

The analysis finds higher valuations for US companies that are more efficient in managing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, it empirically shows that investors place a higher value on companies with the following environment-related management policies: initiatives that reward top management for achieving environmental goals and third-party auditing of environmental performance.

By incorporating corporate environmental management practices as an additional environmental performance criterion, this research fills a gap in the literature on the potential relationship between corporate environmental performance and company valuation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the board structure and process disclosure (henceforth BSPD) level on corporate performance, depending on the Anglophone vs Francophone business culture prevailing in African emerging markets.

The BSPD score is measured by searching 220 annual reports (year ended 2006) for information of 35 items provided by S&P's template in 11 emerging markets in Africa. The empirical model builds on multiple regressions and assumes interaction between the Anglophone/Francophone business culture and BSPD level to affect corporate performance.

African companies from countries having historical links with Great Britain exhibit substantially higher BSPD scores than those from countries having historical links with France. The influence of BSPD level on corporate performance is more pronounced for financial Anglophone African companies than non‐financial Anglophone African companies.

Providing BSPD levels for African emerging markets helps to a better understanding of the board of directors' activity and characteristics that prevail in both Anglophone and Francophone African companies. The implications are potentially useful for regulators, market authorities and standard setters in order to provide new requirements on corporate governance narrative reporting in African emerging markets. BSPD scores obtained for African emerging markets can also serve for comparison with other emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

This paper is one of the first to examine the effect of BSPD level on corporate performance in African emerging markers. This study contributes to asserting the role of Anglophone vs Francophone business culture in shaping the level of disclosure on board structure and activity and its influence on corporate performance in Africa.