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The purpose of this paper is to explore a very new approach of creating scenarios with fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM); specifically to create scenarios for wind energy deployment.

In this paper a small exercise is conducted to illustrate the usefulness of FCM‐based scenarios.

Scenario‐based planning is often used in technology management and scenarios are generated to cater for uncertainty and facilitate development of responsive and robust strategic plans. Scenario analysis helps to identify different alternatives of the future state of technologies, needs, policies and environment. Scenario planning helps to overcome thinking limitations by presenting multiple futures. FCMs are based on causal cognitive maps and combine the benefits of both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Domain knowledge of multiple experts can be integrated into an FCM to present collective knowledge base.

This is a conceptual paper exploring use of fuzzy cognitive maps to create scenarios for wind energy deployment. The paper provides scenarios and a way to integrate them into technology roadmaps.

The increasing global concerns about the environmental degradation and climate changes oblige architecture students to apply sustainable design approaches in their studio projects. Therefore, renewable energy raises the expectation of providing sustainable solutions for their architectural design proposals. This paper aims to investigate the learning of students in knowledge, awareness and applicability on sustainability during their first three years of the part 1 architecture programme. Surveys were conducted on 500 students from eight architecture schools from the local universities, two architecture schools from the polytechnic colleges and three architectural schools from the overseas universities. These survey results from 335 respondents confirmed that the learning on sustainability through self (51.6%), peer (48.6%) and design studio lecturers (37.0%). These results confirmed also that most respondents did rely on pre-design assessments to develop sustainable design strategies in their final architectural design proposals. These results concluded that the perception of architecture students on learning sustainability is based mainly on other sources. These findings provide knowledge for educationists and practitioners towards the planning of architecture curriculum and the implementation of pedagogical approach in sustainability. This paper determines the most important source of learning on sustainability knowledge for students in the pedagogy at university level.

This research aims to understand how competencies for supply chain professionals are developed and how they can affect the manager's performance, especially the manager's resilience in times of significant supply chain disruptions.

A research model was developed based on a comprehensive literature survey in the area of individual competencies grounded in the knowledge-based view of the firm. We tested our research model using a quantitative, survey-based study with a sample of 175 Pakistani supply chain managers. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM).

The analysis identified corporate training and knowledge sharing as the main antecedents of supply chain professional's competencies. It also showed that these competencies result in higher performance in the form manager's resilience and job performance.

This study provides a valuable framework for organisations to focus on skill-developing training and promoting a knowledge-sharing culture among employees to achieve desired performance levels.

This study is unique as no prior research studied such a comprehensive model of antecedents and consequences of supply chain professionals' competencies.

The objective of this paper is to develop a fast modelling technique for predicting magneto-rheological fluid damper behaviour under impact loading applications.

The adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) technique was adopted to predict the behaviour of a magneto-rheological fluid (MRF) damper through experimental characterisation data. In this study, an MRF damper manufactured by Lord Corporation was used for characterisation using an impact pendulum test rig. The experimental characterisation was carried out with various impact energies and constant input currents applied to the MRF damper.

This research provided a fast modelling technique with relatively less error in predicting MRF damper behaviour for the development of control strategies. Accordingly, the ANFIS model was able to predict MRF damper behaviour under impact loading and showed better performance than the modified Bouc–Wen model.

This study only focused on modelling technique for a single type of MRF damper used for impact loading applications. It is possible for other applications, such as cyclic loading, random loadings and system identification, to be studied in future experiments.

Future researchers could apply the ANFIS model as an actuator model for the development of control strategies and analyse the control performance. The model also can be replicated in other industries with minor modifications to suit different needs.

The capability to predict and evaluate various configurations’ performance during the conceptual design phase using multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization can significantly increase the preliminary design process’s efficiency and reduce design and development costs. This research paper aims to perform multidisciplinary design and optimization for an expendable microsatellite launch vehicle (MSLV) comprising three solid-propellant stages, capable of delivering micro-payloads in the low earth orbit. The methodology’s primary purpose is to increase the conceptual and preliminary design process’s efficiency by reducing both the design and development costs.

Multidiscipline feasible architecture is applied for the multidisciplinary design and optimization of an expendable MSLV at the conceptual level to accommodate interdisciplinary interactions during the optimization process. The multidisciplinary design and optimization framework developed and implemented in this research effort encompasses coupled analysis disciplines of vehicle geometry, mass calculations, aerodynamics, propulsion and trajectory. Nineteen design variables were selected to optimize expendable MSLV to launch a 100 kg satellite at an altitude of 600 km in the low earth orbit. Modern heuristic optimization methods such as genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and SA are applied and compared to obtain the optimal configurations. The initial population is created by passing the upper and lower bounds of design variables to the optimizer. The optimizer then searches for the best possible combination of design variables to obtain the objective function while satisfying the constraints.

All of the applied heuristic methods were able to optimize the design problem. Optimized design variables from these methods lie within the lower and upper bounds. This research successfully achieves the desired altitude and final injection velocity while satisfying all the constraints. In this research effort, multiple runs of heuristic algorithms reduce the fundamental stochastic error.

The use of multiple heuristics optimization methods such as GA, PSO and SA in the conceptual design phase owing to the exclusivity of their search approach provides a unique opportunity for exploration of the feasible design space and helps in obtaining alternative configurations capable of meeting the mission objectives, which is not possible when using any of the single optimization algorithm.

The optimized configurations can be further used as baseline configurations in the microsatellite launch missions’ conceptual and preliminary design phases.

Satellite launch vehicle design and optimization is a complex multidisciplinary problem, and it is dealt with effectively in the multidisciplinary design and optimization domain. It integrates several interlinked disciplines and gives the optimum result that satisfies these disciplines’ requirements. This research effort provides the multidisciplinary design and optimization-based simulation framework to predict and evaluate various expendable satellite launch vehicle configurations’ performance. This framework significantly increases the conceptual and preliminary design process’s efficiency by reducing design and development costs.

Drawing on the “substitute for leadership” theory, this study investigates the mediating role of employee attitude between supervisory support and employee’s organisational citizenship behaviour for the environment. It also explicates the role of environmental management practices, as substitute for supervisory support in this relationship.

Time-lagged data (n = 235) were collected from middle- and upper-level management employees working in manufacturing and service sector organisations in Pakistan. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling and regression analysis.

The findings reveal that supervisory support enhances employee attitudes towards pro-environmental behaviour, which in turn increases employees’ tendency to involve in organisational citizenship behaviour for the environment. However, the formal environmental management practices of the organisation serve as a substitute for the supervisory support because, if such formal practices are followed, the role of supervisory support becomes less significant.

This study is the maiden attempt to apply the “substitute for leadership” theory to the study of organisation citizenship behaviour for the environment. Moreover, it adds to the largely overlooked dimension of the research area concerning the inter-relationships between employees’, supervisory and organisational level antecedents of organisational citizenship behaviour for the environment.

The study aims to explain the relationship between accounting and finance through measuring the effect of rational working capital management on profitability.

Employing the methodology of semi-structured interviews with sixteen financial managers.

The findings pointed out the relationship between accounting and finance is complementary, since it supports the accountant by the critical skills and information, like project evaluation, managing the company funding resources and working capital management. These skills put the accountant up to the financial manager stage. The working capital investment and financing policies have the most significant impact on profitability. These policies related to risk and return theory; since the conservative policy will reduce both the risk and return and the aggressive one will have the opposite impact.

It recommends accountants to be in professional stage and increase the profitability of the company to grab both accounting and finance information and skills.

This study aims to examine the institutional investors’ preferences for internal governance mechanisms (internal audit function and audit committee effectiveness) in an emerging country like Malaysia.

A sample of 2,020 yearly firm observations in Bursa Malaysia over the period 2009-2012 is used. The two-stage least squares using instrumental variables (IV-2SLS) analysis is used to examine the relationships. To corroborate the findings of this study, a regression based on a one-year lag of the independent variables is used. Furthermore, ordinary least square regression and Generalized Method of Moments using instrumental variables (IV-GMM) are used.

Positive associations are found between the internal audit function and audit committee effectiveness and the institutional ownership.

These findings imply that institutional investors gravitate to firms that have high investment in internal audit function and effective audit committee. These findings are consistent with the conjecture that institutional investors try to minimize monitoring and exit costs and meet their fiduciary responsibility by investing in better internal audit firms.

This study offers insights to policymakers interested in enhancing internal governance mechanisms to attract institutional investors.

Limited empirical studies have examined the relation between internal governance mechanisms (internal audit function and audit committee effectiveness) and institutional ownership. This study adds to the existing literature on the importance of internal governance mechanisms by documenting an association between internal audit function and audit committee effectiveness and institutional ownership in an emerging country like Malaysia.

This paper aims to investigate the extent to which maṣlaḥah (public interest) is taken into consideration in Islamic banking operations in Malaysia, particularly in bayʿ al-ʿīnah (sale and buyback), taʿwiḍ (compensation) and ibrāʾ (rebate).

This study applies deductive and inductive methods to analyze the application of maṣlaḥah in Islamic financial transactions. Three issues in Malaysia are selected as a case study, allowing bayʿ al-ʿīnah, standardizing the rate of taʿwiḍ and stipulating the ibrāʾ clause in financial agreements. As this study is qualitative in nature, all data are analyzed based on the content analysis method.

Both the maṣlaḥah of Islamic banks and their customers were found to be considered by the Central Bank of Malaysia in the implementation of contracts and principles of Islamic banking. The first maṣlaḥah represents the viability of Islamic banks, while the second maṣlaḥah promotes fairness and transparency between Islamic banks and their customers.

This study only focuses on the contracts and principles of Islamic banking operations in Malaysia with regard to three selected issues.

This paper clarifies the practical application of maṣlaḥah in the Islamic banking industry, particularly with regard to implementing its contracts and principles.

This paper analyzes the argument of maṣlaḥah on the issues of bayʿ al-ʿīnah , taʿwiḍ and ibrāʾ in Malaysia, which are considered among scholars to be debatable issues. While many discussions focus on the legal aspect of Sharīʿah on those issues, this study emphasizes how the application of maṣlaḥah aims to solve the current problems and harmonize between Sharīʿah and reality.