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This paper aims to measure the severity, frequency and importance of the factors causing delays in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) construction industry following the Covid-19 pandemic onset. The study also measures the likelihood of the effects caused by these delays.

A mixed approach of both qualitative and quantitative. Literature review was conducted to extract 40 factors of delays and 10 effects of delays. A survey was then administered to construction professionals in the UAE to collect the perceptions on the severity and frequency of factors of the causes of delays using a Likert Scale of 1–5 where 1 represented very low and 5 represented very high. Similarly, the respondents were also asked to rate the likelihood of the occurrence of the effects of the delays based on a Likert scale of 1–5 as well. Furthermore, Spearman’s rank correlation was also conducted to compute the level of agreement between the different parties; owner, consultants and contractors.

The results revealed that the top five factors of delays include: award the project for the lowest bidder, delay in progress payment, change orders by the owner, poor subcontractor performance and inadequate planning and scheduling by the contractor. The findings of this study emphasize the financial challenges and economic crisis brought upon the construction industry due to the pandemic. Furthermore, the pandemic also shifted the perceptions of construction professionals, who are now more aware of the delays caused by awarding the project to the lowest bidder who would not have the required qualifications to conduct efficient planning and scheduling that are relevant in the case of extraordinary events such as Covid-19. Moreover, a high level of agreement between the consultants and contractors was observed, with a Spearman’s rank correlation of 0.804. Additionally, the most likely effects of delays concluded from this study were time overrun/extension and poor quality of work.

Literature review is very rich in the field of construction projects delays. However, there is very limited research on the impact of Covid-19 in the context of construction projects delays, and insights from construction professionals regarding this matter are particularly lacking in literature. Therefore, this paper bridges the gap in literature by providing perceptions of construction professionals on the impact of Covid-19 on the factors causing delays in the UAE construction industry. The findings of this research are expected to be an invaluable resource for future to help the construction industry heal faster when encountering similar epidemics or extraordinary events.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamic relationships among the essential knowledge management (KM) constructs, i.e. strategy, enablers and processes, and to establish their links to organizational performance using a holistic integrated model.

The structural equation modeling approach was used in the research study. The primary data were collected from IT managers in Indian software firms.

The study successfully tested an integrated KM model in an Indian scenario. The study found that the KM strategy, enablers and processes had a significant positive relationship with the organizational performance. An appropriately designed KM strategy significantly influenced the KM enablers and KM process. KM enablers nurtured in an organization positively impacted the KM process. Furthermore, the KM process partially mediated the relationship between the KM strategy and organizational performance, and partially mediated the relationship between KM enablers and organizational performance.

This study is one of the few to empirically establish how the essential KM constructs of strategy, enablers and processes together impact organizational performance.

The application of synthetic dyestuffs in the dyeing and printing industries has been criticized because of the introduction of contaminants into the environment. With time, the increasing international awareness of environment and ecology preservation has led to the industry’s attention towards natural dyes and their efficient usage compared to synthetic counterparts. Because the need for “Green” goods and services are rising public awareness, this paper aims to use a banana bio-resource waste to dye cotton fabric.

Factorial design with three variables, including parts of a banana plant, combination of alkalis and application temperature at three different levels, was studied to identify a significant correlation between the effect of these variables on the colour strength and fastnesses of the dyed cotton fabrics.

Dyeing samples achieved with various parts of banana are found to offer significant colour strength and a good wash and rub fastness. Experimental design analysis helped to formulate a standard workable dyeing recipe with the minimum use of resources exhibiting reasonably good wash and rub fastness.

This dyeing technique is novel and can be found useful for partially replacing synthetic dyes with natural colourants possessing good washing and rubbing fastness.

Porosity is one of the most important properties of the textile substrate. It can influence the comfort of a garment by affecting its breathability and thermal conductivity. During the process of dyeing, the dye liquor comes in contact with the substrate; the absorption of the dye liquor into the substrate will be dependent on its porosity. The concept of porosity between the yarns of fabric is a common phenomenon; however, the porosity between the fibres in the yarn can also influence the dyeing behaviour of the fabric.

In this research, ring and rotor yarns of 25/s and 30/s counts are considered as textile substrates. The porosity of yarns was determined theoretically and experimentally using the image analysis method.

It was found that theoretical porosity is independent of the yarn manufacturing method. In addition, 30/s yarn was more porous as compared with 25/s yarn having a higher pore area. Rotor yarns had higher porosity, dye fixation and K/S as compared with ring yarns. Dyeing behaviour was also dependent on the count of yarn. Specifically, 30/s yarns have higher dye fixation as compared with 25/s yarns. However, 25/s yarns were dyed with deeper shades showing higher K/S values. Also, 25/s yarns are coarser than 30/s yarns having higher diameters and cross-sectional area, thus resulting in deeper shades and higher K/S values.

This novel technique is based on the comparative study of the porosity of various types of yarns using the image analysis technique. This investigation shows that the porosity between the fibres in the yarn can also influence the dyeing behaviour of the yarn.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the principal determinants of women’s employment in the manufacturing sector of Bangladesh using a firm-level panel data from the World Bank’s “Enterprise Survey” for the years 2007, 2011 and 2013. The paper sheds light on the demand-side factors, mainly firm-level characteristics, which also influence this decision.

The authors estimate a fractional logit model to model a dependent variable that is limited by zero from below and one from above.

The results indicate that firm size, whether medium or large, and firms’ export-oriented activities, have an important impact on women’s employment in the manufacturing sector in Bangladesh. Moreover, the authors find that women are significantly more likely to work in unskilled-labour-intensive industries within the manufacturing sector.

The research is limited to Bangladesh; however, much of the evidence presented here has implications that are relevant to policymakers in other developing countries.

The study identifies factors that affect female employment, that is, where the main constraints to increase female labour force participation. The study focuses on the demand-side factors, which has been somewhat neglected in recent years. As such, it has practical policy implications.

Focusing on female employment in Bangladesh also sheds light on the nexus between labour market opportunities and social change within a country that is characterised by extreme patriarchy, which has wide-reaching implications.

This is an original and comprehensive paper by the authors.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

It is imperative that firms develop effective knowledge management (KM) systems in order to remain competitive in today’s challenging business environment. By focusing on the different KM constructs and the important associations between, organizations will become better placed to enhance overall performance.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to assess nurse’s knowledge and practice regarding basic life support (BLS) skills while working with SARS-CoV-2 patients in Jordanian hospitals.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 386 nurses with direct contact with SARS-CoV-2 patients at Jordanian hospitals. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used based on the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines.

A total of 386 participants were recruited. The mean years of experience were 7.89 (SD = 5.97). About three quarters of participants revealed they deal with SARS-CoV-2 patients directly (n = 284, 73.6%). The total mean score of nurse’s knowledge was 4.44 (SD = 1.22), while the total mean score of practice was 8.44 (SD = 2.05). Independent t-test was used, which revealed a statistically significant difference between educational level and total score of nurse’s knowledge [t(386) = 0.215 and p = 0.001] and between training to deal with SARS-CoV-2 during BLS and total score of practice [t(386) = 2.66 and p = 0.008]. Pearson correlation discloses a positive correlation between the total score of knowledge and practice (r = 0.343 and p = 0.001).

In general, nurses revealed a moderate level of knowledge and practice of BLS skills. However, assessing nurse’s knowledge and practice during the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 plays a key role in identifying the gap in nurse’s knowledge and practice, and therefore, it will have an impact on providing high-quality BLS to save infected patients while providing maximum safety according to AHA guidelines.

This study is the first study that examined the level of knowledge and practice of BLS skills during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Jordan.

This article studies the particle qad in standard Arabic (SA) and Asiri Arabic (AA). In SA, qad is pronounced as [qæd], whereas in AA it is pronounced as [q?d] and written as qid. Qad in SA is different from qid in AA regarding its functional use and syntactic distribution. Accordingly, the study discusses the semantics and selection properties of qad/qid.

Contrasting analyses are presented to verify which syntactic analysis better suits extended projection principle (EPP) extension, and tree structures are provided to elucidate ongoing problematic configurations and to provide solutions.

The SA particle qad has three functions: (1) a probability modal, as in may or might; (2) a perfective auxiliary, as in have, has and had; and (3) indicating emphatic purpose, as in do, does and did. Contrariwise, qid in AA has two meanings: (1) have, has and had (perfective auxiliary); and (2) the past tense of the English copula was/became (a linking verb). Given this background, there has been a debate in the syntax literature about whether qid/qad is an adverb. The current article provides evidence indicating that qid and qad are not adverbs.

The study is limited to the analysis of qid in Asiri dialect. Further research needs to be done on the different branches of the Asiri dialects according to the tribe. Sometimes, tribes have different sound for some words. There is not any literature review found on the Asiri dialects in the designated area of study; the particle qid.

The study can be counted towards the Asiri linguistic heritage in documenting the syntactic and semantic properties of qid particle. The study contributes to the linguistic field of the Arabic language and its varieties.

The study offers a general review of the linguistic background of Asir region. The study introduces the reader to qad particle in SA and holds a comparison between the two researched versions of qad in SA and qid in AA.

The paradoxical analysis between qad and qid on all levels is presented (semantics, functional use, selection properties and level of configuration (EPP)). Also, it introduces the particle qid in AA as it was never investigated before.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of CEO compensation for sample of the US firms. It emphasizes the presence of executive compensation persistence and the importance of CEO power besides performance while setting CEO pay.

The empirical analysis is conducted on a large sample of US firms during the period 2006–2016. It is based on the generalized method of moments (GMM) models to assess the impact of numerous factors on CEO compensation.

The main findings reveal that firm performance proxied by accounting-based proxies, as well as market-based proxies, plays a significant role in explaining variations in levels of executive compensation. Moreover, there is a significant persistence in executive compensation among the US sample firms. The authors also document that poor governance conditions (managerial power hypothesis) lead to high compensation levels offered to CEO.

At the end, without a doubt, the analysis has some limitations that prompt the authors to consider future research directions. One future research avenue that can help better explain the effect of firm performance on the CEO compensation is to study this issue using an international sample to determine whether country-level characteristics (e.g. creditor rights, shareholder rights and the enforcement climate) can influence this relationship. Furthermore, it can be worthwhile to deepen the analysis of CEO power and its impact on CEO compensation. It will be interesting to emphasize how the CEO power interacts with the other governance characteristics and some CEO attributes as CEO gender.

The paper's findings have implications for practitioners, policymakers and regulatory authorities. First, the findings inform regulators that performance is not the only determinant of CEO pay level. This may warrant increased firm disclosure of the details of the pay structure. Second, the study offers insights to policymakers and members of boards of directors interested in enhancing the design of executive compensation and internal corporate governance, to better align managerial incentives to shareholder interests. Firms should strengthen the board independence and properly constitute the board committees (compensation, risk, nomination…).

This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the CEO compensation determinants. It supplements the classic pay-for-performance sensitivity predictions with insights gained from the dynamics of wage setting theory and managerial power theory. The authors develop a composite index to measure the CEO power in order to test the impact of CEO attributes on CEO pay. Additionally, it verifies whether the determinants of CEO pay depend on firm age and size.

The purpose of this paper is to explore preparers’ and users’ perception of intellectual capital (IC) usefulness and to examine the significant differences in the usefulness perceptions of IC information and its categories according to sex, age, function, educational level, specialty and professional experience of respondents.

This exploratory study drew on a questionnaire survey sent to five groups of preparers and users who were asked to provide their usefulness perception about information on IC and its categories.

This paper found that the five preparers and users groups perceive information on IC as well as its three categories as useful for their decision-making purposes. In addition, it concluded that the usefulness perception of IC information does not differ by sex, age, function, educational level and specialty of the respondents, but it differs according to the professional experience.

To the extent that users perceive IC information as useful, managers are encouraged to disclose more information about this hidden capital in order to improve their transparency. As there are no generally accepted IC reporting guidelines and in order to fill informational gaps between companies and their stakeholders, accounting standards bodies could regulate the IC information disclosure by developing relevant communication standards in accordance with stakeholders’ expectations. They may identify information items that should be considered as a priority by making them mandatory for disclosure purposes, and other items voluntary.

The paper can be regarded as the first exploratory study to investigate the IC information usefulness from the perspectives of five preparers and users groups in Tunisia, as an example of a developing economy in Africa.