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The purpose of this study is to examine the development of environmental performance (EP) through sustainable practices (SPs), environmental corporate social responsibility (environmental CSR) and behavioural intentions (BIs) among Pakistan’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

In this study, the researchers applied a quantitative approach which involved significant cross-sectional data. The authors used an online survey to serve the aim of this study. The survey’s respondents are top managers of Pakistan’s manufacturing firms. The authors received 196 valid cases to obtain suitable outcomes from the data.

By using the structural equation model, the path analysis shows that green practices (GPs) have a positive and significant effect on SPs and environmental CSR. This study’s findings also demonstrate that environmental CSR plays a substantial role in developing the SPs, BIs and EP. The results of this study also show that SP plays a positive and significant role towards BIs and EP. Finally, BI predicts the EP.

This study's findings provide planners and policymakers with guidelines to create EP through environmental CSR, SPs and BIs. This study's findings are valuable results in identifying green practices’ significant role in establishing environmental CSR and SPs. Finally, this study's findings offer a new perception of integrating these factors and their contribution to EP.

This study examined the development of EP in the challenging situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, in terms of the empirical findings, this study provides original value.

This paper aims to synthesize new benzimidazole dyes aiming to study the solvent effects on their absorption in Ultraviolet-visible spectra.

Ureido/thioureido hydrazonamide benzimidazoles (U/THB) are prepared by condensation of N-aryl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-2-carbohydrazonoyl bromides with ureido and/ or thioureido reagents. The target products are fully characterized for structural elucidation by means of their spectral and elemental methods. Solvatochromic behavior of U/THB dyes has been studied in different polar protic solvents at room temperature.

The absorption spectra distinguish two main bands at (350 nm–442 nm) and (308 nm–382 nm) referring to n-π* and π- π* transitions of the azo groups. Dimethyl formamide induces an extremely bathochromic transition comparing to the other protic solvents. The observed bathochromic shifts indicate strong interaction with solvents in the excited state. Most dyes show one absorbance in all solvents used, so they may exist in a single tautomeric form (hydrazo form).

In the present paper, the synthesis of U/THB dyes was achieved by a simple and convenient pathway. In addition, the variations in substituents attached to the chromophoric moiety could also be studied.

The new U/THB dyes are accountable for providing good knowledge about their solvation and spectral properties of an order acceptable for industrial utilization.

Synthesis of these new benzimidazole derivatives and study of their solvation and spectral properties provides good knowledge, which is very useful in many industrial applications (e.g. dye-sensitized solar cell, etc.).

The synthesized mono azo U/THB dyes are novel members in the benzimidazole family, where no details regarding the synthesis of such dyes are reported before in the literature. They are superior in terms of preparation, multiple applications and spectral properties.

Prior research has found that consumers’ purchasing behavior varies amongst consumers of different cultures. The purpose of this paper is to examine the behavior of consumers of luxury products by investigating the relationships between their collective-oriented values (pertaining to religion, family, and community), and their materialism or materialistic orientation, resulting in them using such products to signal their social status to others, and whether they are getting satisfaction from using such products, in an effort to understand how the behaviors vary between Malaysian and Saudi Arabian consumers.

Data were collected by a questionnaire survey where 1,388 self-administered questionnaires were collected from Baby boomers, Generations X and Y respondents in two major cities: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The authors also assessed the structure and reliability of the constructs developed for this research as well as tested some hypotheses regarding their interrelationships, across the two different cities/cultures.

Findings demonstrate the complexity of cultures and lifestyles of consumers and societies. For Saudi consumers, their materialistic tendency is significantly influenced by their religious, family values (inverse relationship), and community values, whereas for the Malaysian consumers, this tendency was only significantly influenced by their family values. For the Saudis, there were strong positive relationships between materialistic values and product status signaling and between product status signaling and product satisfaction, whereas for the Malaysians, both relationships were also positive but only moderate in strength. Overall, the results show that the Malaysians were more materialistic than the Saudis. But, since the Saudis have higher income, they are in a better position to fulfill their materialistic desire than their Malaysian counterparts.

The convenience sampling used for the study is the main limitation. Another limitation of this study is that it was done in only one major city in each of the two countries.

Consumers from the two cultures/cities do use luxury products to signal their status in the society, despite their different cultures and country income levels and that the consumption of those products gave both of them satisfaction. Hence, as a practical implication, international marketers of luxury products and services could and should continue to market their products and services in these two countries. However, they need to understand that the factors that influence the consumers’ materialism are different between the two cultures/cities and hence their marketing strategies need to take this into consideration.

All the issues discussed in this study have not been previously empirically investigated and compared in two different developing countries – Saudi Arabia, a mono-cultural and high-income country) and Malaysia (a multi-cultural and upper middle income country) despite their rapid growth rates and economic importance.

The level of mental alertness among students who are in need of study in the preparatory year – Imam Abdul Rahman Bin Faisal University. The level of self-competence of female students who are in need of study in the preparatory year – Imam Abdul Rahman Bin Faisal University. To learn about the relationship between mental alertness and self-competence among students who are in need of study in the preparatory year – Imam Abdul Rahman Bin Faisal University.

The researchers used the experimental method by following the experimental design with two measurements, tribal and posterior, for two groups, one experimental and the other control, due to its suitability to the nature of this research. Research sample: the research community included female students stumbling in the scientific path of Rayyan, the second semester of the academic year 2020–2021 AD, where the researchers selected the research sample in a deliberate manner from the stalled students of 25 students and a random sample of 10 female students was withdrawn to conduct the exploratory study. The number of the basic research sample is 15 female students. Reasons for selecting the search sample: all of the sample members are female students stumbling in the scientific path of Al-Rayyan for the academic year 2020–2021 and all sample members agree to apply the research.

The researchers refer to this to the virtual psychological guidance program-specific objectives, as well as the follow-up of the scientific principles and principles and the legalization of the measurement tools used in the research and the diversity of the program within the parts of the program and the training sought to develop the ability to manage pressures and emotions and training in social skills, awareness and self-awareness and the use of exercises relaxation, breathing and modern self-help, as well as the use of different methods and techniques such as the method of dialogue, discussion, awareness of feelings and problem-solving, which led to a change in behavior and personal characteristics, which led to a change in behavior and personal characteristics, leading to the development of behavior and personal characteristics.

The study aims to design a hypothetical psychological counseling program as a method of health care and its effect on the level of mental alertness and the level of self-efficacy of students who have struggled to study at the Deanship of the preparatory year – Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University. The researchers used the experimental approach and applied this study on a sample of 25 students from the students who failed to study at the Deanship of the preparatory year for the second semester of the academic year 2020–2021 AD and the most important results were that the psychological counseling program as a method of health care had a positive effect on improving the level of mental alertness and the level of self-efficacy among the students who had failed to study. There is a positive correlation between the level of mental alertness and self-efficacy of struggling students as a way of health care.

The efficiency of fractional derivative and hereditary combined approach in modeling viscoelastic behavior of soft foams was successfully addressed in Elfarhani et al. (2016a). Since predictions obtained on flexible polyurethane foam (FPF) type A (density 28 kg m⁻³) were found very promoting, the purpose of this paper is to apply the approach basing on two other types of foams. Both soft polyurethane foams type B of density 42 kg m⁻³ and type C of density 50 kg m⁻³ were subjected to multi-cycles compressive tests.

The total foam response is assumed to be the sum of a non-linear elastic component and viscoelastic component. The elastic force is modeled by a seven-order polynomial function of displacement. The hereditary approach was applied during the loading half-cycles to simulate the short memory effects while the fractional derivative approach was applied during unloading cycles to simulate the long memory effects. An identification methodology based on the separation of the measurements of each component force was developed to avoid parameter admixture problems.

The proposed model reveals good reliability in predicting the responses of the two considered flexible foams. Predictions as measurements establish that residual responses were negligible compared to elastic and viscoelastic damping responses.

The development of a new combined model reveals good reliability in predicting the responses of the two polyurethane foams type A and B.

This paper aims to examine the extent to which these reforms address the limitations of Saudi Arabia’s previous investment framework. Long viewed as a hostile environment in which to do business, the Saudi Government has enacted a broad sweep of measures aimed at restoring investor confidence in central aspects of the country’s evolving private law framework.

This paper offers a timely assessment of the raft of foreign investment reforms, both legislative and regulatory, that have been introduced in Saudi Arabia over the last decade.

The paper will proceed by outlining the perceived failings of the old investment regime before going on to reforms.

It will consider the remaining obstacles to the flow of foreign investment in Saudi Arabia in the context of the dual forces that have historically defined the Kingdom’s ambivalent investment law regime.

The purpose of this paper is to cover an experimental investigation of the impulse response of the foam-mass system (FMS) to unveil some of the foam dynamic behavior features needed to optimize the impact comfort of seat-occupant system. The equation of motion of the studied system is modeled as a sum of a linear elastic, pneumatic damping and viscoelastic residual forces. An identification methodology based on two separated calibration processes of the viscoelastic parameters was developed.

The viscoelastic damping force representing the foam short memory effects was modeled through the hereditary formulation. Its parameters were predicted from the free vibrational response of the FMS using iterative Prony method for autoregressive–moving–average model. However, the viscoelastic residual force resulting in the long memory effects of the material was modeled with fractional derivative term and its derivative order was predicted from previous cyclic compression standards.

The coefficients of the motion law were determined using closed form solution approach. The predictions obtained from the simulations of the impulse and cyclic tests are reasonably accurate. The physical interpretations as well as the mathematical correlations between the system parameters were discussed in details.

The prediction model combines hereditary and fractional derivative formulations resulting in short and long physical memory effects, respectively. Simulation of impulse and cyclic behavior yields good correlation with experimental findings.

The purpose of this paper is to confirm the importance of using metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) in the field of corrosion control due to their potential use as corrosion inhibitors.

NH2–MIL–101(Cr), an amine-functionalized chromium-based MOF [Cr(III)-MOF], was prepared by solvothermal technique. Thereafter, Cr-MOF was used as an anticorrosion additive for mild steel (MS) in 1 m HCl solution. This inhibition behavior was tested by electrochemical tests including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP).

Increasing the added amount of Cr-MOF enhances its inhibition performance, which attained 96.40% at 30 ppm. The obtained data from PDP measurements describe Cr-MOF as a mixed-type inhibitor. Based on SEM/EDS and FTIR analysis, the adsorption of Cr-MOF on the surface of MS that prevents MS corrosion has been demonstrated. Furthermore, Langmuir model is the most adequate adsorption isotherm for the obtained experimental data.

This study revealed that NH2–MIL–101(Cr), an amine-functionalized chromium-based MOF (Cr(III)-MOF), is a potential corrosion inhibitor for MS in 1 m HCl solution.

This paper aims to numerically solve fully developed laminar flow in trapezoidal ducts with rounded corners which result following forming processes.

A two-dimensional model for a trapezoidal duct with rounded corners is developed and conservation of momentum equation is solved. The flow is assumed to be steady, fully developed, laminar, isothermal and incompressible. The key flow characteristics including the Poiseuille number and the incremental pressure drop have been computed and tabulated for a wide range of: sidewall angle (θ); the ratio of the height of the duct to its smaller base (α); and the ratio of the fillet radius of the duct to its smaller base (β).

The results show that Poiseuille number decreases, and all the other dimensionless numbers increase with increasing the radii of the fillets of the duct; these effects were found to amplify with decreasing duct heights or increasing sidewall angles. The maximum axial velocity was shown to increase with increasing the radii of the fillets of the duct. For normally used ducts in hydrogen fuel cells, the impact of rounded corners cannot be overlooked for very low channel heights or very high sidewall angles.

The data generated in this study are highly valuable for engineers interested in estimating pressure drops in rounded trapezoidal ducts; these ducts have been increasingly used in hydrogen fuel cells where flow channels are stamped on thin metallic sheets.

Fully developed laminar flow in trapezoidal ducts with four rounded corners has been solved for the first time, allowing for more accurate estimation of pressure drop.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the sustainability benefits of using demolition and industrial wastes as a replacement for aggregates and cement in traditional concrete mixes.

Crushed concrete from demolition sites served as a replacement for fine and coarse aggregate in some of the mixes at various ratios. In addition, ground granulated blast furnace slag, metakaolin, silica fume, and fly ash each served as a cement replacement for cement content in the mixes tested in this research at various rates. Compression strength tests, permeability, and thermal expansion tests were performed on various mixes to compare their performance to that of traditional mixes with natural aggregate, and with no cement replacement.

The compressive strength results indicated the suitability of using such demolition wastes as replacements in producing green concrete (GC) without hindering its mechanical characteristics significantly. In addition, the results indicated an enhancement in the mechanical characteristics of GC when replacing cement with pozzolanic industrial wastes and byproducts.

The research assesses the utilization of sustainable GC using recycled waste aggregate and byproducts.