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To investigate the adsorption behaviour and inhibitive effect of Vigna unguiculata (VU) extract (agricultural waste material) for aluminium corrosion in 0.5 M NaOH and H₂SO₄.

The inhibitive effect of the plant extract was assessed using weight loss method at 30 and 60^oC. The trend of inhibition efficiency with temperature was used to propose the mechanism of inhibition and type of adsorption.

VU extract effectively inhibited aluminium corrosion in both alkaline and acidic media. Inhibition efficiency (I %) of the extract increased with increase in concentration of the extract and temperature. Inhibitor adsorption characteristics were approximated by Freunlich and Temkin adsorption isotherms at all the concentrations and temperatures studied. The phenomenon of chemical adsorption is proposed from the activation parameters obtained.

The mechanistic aspect of the corrosion inhibition can be better understood using electrochemical studies such as polarization and AC impedance spectra.

The findings may be useful in metal surface anodizing and metal coating.

This paper provides new information on the possible application of VU extract as eco‐friendly inhibitor. It has not been reported elsewhere.

To achieve Goal 5 of the MDGs, the Government of Ghana introduced the free maternal health service system to break financial barriers of access to maternal care services. In spite of this, facility‐based deliveries continue to be low due partly to poor quality of antenatal care that prevents pregnant women from giving birth in hospitals. The aim of this study is to examine factors shaping quality of antenatal care in selected public hospitals in the country.

363 expectant mothers were randomly selected for interview. Women who have previously received antenatal care in the health facilities for at least two occasions were interviewed. Multivariate logistic regression model were computed to examine correlates of antenatal care quality.

The odds of reporting quality of antenatal care as good was higher among women aged between 30 and 34 years. Similarly women with junior/senior high education were more likely to report antenatal care quality as good. Distance to the health facilities generally influence women perception of antenatal care quality but the relative odds of reporting quality of care as good attenuated with proximity to the health facility. Five factors (pleasant interaction with providers, privacy during consultation, attentiveness of providers, adequate facilities and availability of drugs) emerged as statistically significant in explaining antenatal care quality after controlling for selected demographic variables.

Results of the study generally demonstrate the need to improve maternal services in public facilities to stimulate utilisation and facility‐based deliveries.

The purpose of this paper is to study the ability of commercial tara powder to convert rust into iron tannate and evaluate their use as raw material for the formulation of water based rust converter.

Water-borne acrylic primers were formulated with tara powder and aqueous tara extract and applied on steel rusted by three different methods. The conversion of rusted steel by tara tannins was studied by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The acrylic primers, containing hydrolysable tannins, were coated with alkyd finish and were evaluated in comparison to commercial systems in accelerated corrosion tests. The corrosion inhibition effects of tara powder on mild steel in 0.1M NaCl were studied by DC electrochemical techniques.

Tara tannin converts rust to ferric tannate and increases the magnetite content of rusted steel. The water-based acrylic primer formulated with aqueous extract of tara, alkyd-coated finish, showed performance equivalent to pure alkyd system.

The chlorides content in the commercial tara powder can be screened the beneficial effect of hydrolysable tannins to convert rust. Furthermore, the water-based rust converter formulated with acrylic resin may be sensitive to salt contamination of rust.

Hydrolysable tannins from commercial tara powder have not been studied yet in its application to the development of rust converters. A water-based primer formulated with commercial tara powder developed for the effective treatment of rusted surfaces can be of interest as an environmentally friendly to current commercial approaches.

Food and beverage (F&B) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must diversify their markets and obtain predictable sources of revenues to withstand difficult and volatile periods such as the post-pandemic geopolitical scenario, recently burdened by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. On the other hand, another strand of the literature suggests that public procurement could be considered a great source of income, enabling solid contracts, revenues and cash-flow stability. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the role of public procurement, the adoption of e-commerce platforms and their interactions in affecting the exporting performances of SMEs operating in the F&B sector.

The study retrieves data from 2,186 Italian F&B manufacturing SMEs relying on Margò by Cribis database. Therefore, it conducts a structured equational model (SEM) to test the developed hypotheses empirically.

The findings reveal that digital selling platforms positively affect exports, whereas public procurement negatively affects F&B SMEs exports. Nonetheless, findings underline that the interaction between public procurement and the adoption of digital selling platforms dampens public procurement's negative effects on exports.

This study brings an original contribution to the F&B literature by conducting empirical research on an extensive sample of firms from one of the most influential countries in the F&B vertical, Italy, with officially registered data. More importantly, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this study pioneers the investigation of the relationship between public procurement and e-commerce platforms in affecting F&B SMEs' export performances.

The challenges of the 21st century, post-industrial society are increasingly complex. They will not be solved by the actions of individual, “heroic” leaders; instead, they require the participation of diverse stakeholders in order to make progress. Through a discussion of the evolution of leadership theory, we demonstrate that theories emerging from a post-industrial paradigm highlight the collective dimensions of leadership in contrast to the leader-centric theories of the Industrial Era. We draw from this literature to problematize the leader-centric nature of community leadership programs in the United States by specifically examining their sponsorship, content, and structure. Finally, we offer a vision for how to re-imagine community leadership programs so that they are more responsive to the complexity of the 21st century by drawing upon collective leadership and postmodern curriculum theory.

The Niger Delta is a region in Nigeria endowed with enormous natural resources of which petroleum oil is the most exploited. This petroleum oil has been the engine of development in Nigeria since 1958, providing more than 90 percent of total exports (CBN, 1981) and over 80 percent of Federal Government revenue. Despite this, the Niger Delta people remain poor and underdeveloped. Youth restiveness and violence is the order of the day. As a product of two separate youth forums, this paper recommends good governance, youth impact assessments, youth inclusion in decision‐making, as well as capacity building as a way out of this discord.

Although small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play major roles in most economies in terms of job creation, innovation and contribution to national income, they are often underrepresented in public procurement markets. This paper aims to explore how the dynamic capabilities theory can improve SME participation in public procurement.

Through a systematic literature review, the paper identifies common barriers to the effective participation of SMEs in public procurement and explores the applicability of the dynamic capabilities theory in addressing these barriers.

A theoretical analysis was conducted to identify possible relationships between the factors reported in the literature as barriers to SME participation in public procurement and different components of the dynamic capabilities of firms (i.e. sensing, seizing, reconfiguring and learning). Seven key propositions were generated to guide future research.

Despite its contributions, this paper is based solely on a systematic literature review and theoretical analysis. Future studies could use meta-analysis to review multiple studies relating to the nexus between SMEs and public procurement, hence improving methodological rigour.

The paper contributes to the ongoing debate about whether and how SMEs can leverage their resources and capabilities to develop self-help strategies to improve participation in public procurement, an area yet underexplored in the literature.

This is one of the few studies examining the implications of firm-level capabilities of SME activity in public procurement markets. The findings may be beneficial to SME managers/owners, particularly regarding firms' ability to leverage resources and capabilities to participate effectively in public procurement.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of pay on job satisfaction. Moreover, it studies the changes in the structure of the work force, as well as in the way work is done, on the pay to job satisfaction relationship.

A confirmatory survey is conducted, and results are presented.

The study suggests that gender is a variable affecting the relationship of pay to employees’ job satisfaction. It highlights the roles of education and training in user participation and system usage. The study investigates the current situation in Lebanese commercial banks.

The outcome of the study could have significant implications on managerial decision-making in the process of implementing novel technologies in banks. It also points to policy changes needed at the human resource management levels.

The study findings suggest a needed change at the policy-making levels of corporate human resource management, as more and more employees are becoming extensive information system users on the job.

If the suggested practical implications are applied, the social implications derived therefrom will generate a social drift in attitude toward gender differentials.

The paper is based on a large sample collection from the services sector, commercial banking in Lebanon. The quantitative survey results highlight a number of correlations and tests a suggested model. It puts forth a linear relationship between the different variables under consideration and suggests recommendations for practitioners.

The impact of information technology (IT) on society is tremendous. Globalization of trade, the emergence of information economies, and the growth of the Internet and other global communications networks have recast the role of information systems in managing global corporations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which personal characteristics such as gender, age, education, income, and experience predict IT managers' job satisfaction in Nigeria. A sample of 360 IT managers selected from business organizations in Nigeria were used for this research. The results of this study suggest that IT managers were satisfied with their job, co‐workers, and supervision, whereas they were dissatisfied with their pay and the promotion system. The results of regression analyses also showed that personal characteristics were significant predictors of job satisfaction.

This study investigates how employees perceive responsible gambling (RG) programs, which are part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework for minimizing negative impacts associated with problematic gambling. Casino employees have different levels of interaction with gamblers, which could affect employees' opinions about RG.

Surveys at two time periods – baseline (N = 2,192) and one-year follow-up (N = 852) to a new RG program – asked employees at MGM Resorts International (MGM) about their (1) perceptions of program effectiveness, (2) gambling behaviors and beliefs and (3) perceived level of employer support. Two one-way MANCOVAs, with years employed in the gambling industry as the covariate, extended results from a prior study. An additional two-way MANCOVA examined contact-level and year-over-year differences.

Employees who have high contact with gamblers, such as those in security or casino dealer positions, viewed RG programs as less effective than employees who have low contact with gamblers, such as those in culinary or corporate positions.

Employees are vital to harm reduction CSR strategies and MGM should work toward a program with varied RG training content and delivery, depending on the likelihood of employee interaction with active gamblers.

RG programs are key CSR initiatives for hospitality organizations with gambling licenses. Employees play an interactive role in delivering these programs, so their perceptions and understanding help assess program value. This is the first study to examine employee perceptions of a newly-implemented RG program with baseline and follow-up data.