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The present paper aims to systematically investigate the influence of building orientations (0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°) and heat treatment processes on the macro-/micro-structural, mechanical and electrochemical behaviors of selective laser melting (SLM) prepared AlSi10Mg alloy parts.

AlSi10Mg samples were produced by the SLM method using standard processing parameters at 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 75° building angles. The effects of building orientations on the physical, mechanical and electrochemical properties of the alloy were investigated.

With the increase in the building orientation from 15° to 75°, the structural defects were found reducing. The effect of step size of inclined geometries was found to significantly influence the mechanical and electrochemical properties of the AlSi10Mg samples. Tensile strength for samples fabricated at lower angles (0°, 15°, 30°) reported a drop of approximately 11% than SLM 0° samples. Moreover, the tensile strength was found to decrease from 412.35 ± 9.568 MPa for the as-built samples to 290.48 ± 12.658 MPa, whereas the fracture strain increases from 3.32 ± 0.56% to 5.6 ± 0.6% when the as-built sample was treated with T6 treatment. This study indicates that the microstructure and mechanical properties of SLM-processed AlSi10Mg alloy can be tailored by a suitable heat treatment or building angle.

Microstructural and mechanical behavior of horizontal or vertically built SLM components have already been demonstrated several times. However, the influence of different building orientations, such as 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, has not been explored in-depth, particularly on corrosion and general mechanical performance. As a result, this work may be of significant relevance to academics and designers, given the varying orientation of internal component of SLM structures.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of post process combinations, e.g. hot isostatic pressing (HIP) only, HIP + T6 heat treatments, and T6 only, with different aging time, on surface properties, microstructure and mechanical properties of stress-relieved AlSi10Mg parts produced by direct laser metal sintering.

HIP process and HIP + T6 heat treatments were applied to as stress-relieved direct laser metal sintered (DMLS) AlSi10Mg parts. Aging times of 4 and 12 h are selected to examine the optimum duration. To analyze the advantages of HIP process, a T6 heat treatment with 4 h of aging was also applied. Densities, open porosities and roughness values of as stress-relieved, HIPed, HIP + T6, and T6-only samples were measured. The samples were characterized by OM and SEM together with EDX analysis. An image analysis study was made to evaluate the inner pore structure, thereby to understand the mechanical behavior.

HIP process does not cause a significant change in surface porosity; yet it has a positive influence on inner porosity. HIP process results in a microstructure of the aluminum matrix surrounded by a network of micron and nano size Si particles. Additional heat treatment results in larger particles and precipitation. After HIPing, ductility increases but strength decreases. Samples aged 4 h present improved yield and tensile strength but decreased elongation, yet samples aged for 12 h reach a combination of optimum strength and ductility. The lower level of tensile strength and ductility in T6-only condition indicates that HIP process plays a crucial role in elimination of the porosity thus improves the effectiveness of subsequent heat treatment.

The study investigates the effect of post-process conditions and optimizes the aging time of the T6 heat treatment after HIP process in order to obtain improved mechanical properties. The stress-relieved state was chosen as the reference to prevent distortion during HIPing or heat treatment.

This paper aims to investigate the effects of various heat treatments on microstructure, hardness, porosity and corrosion properties of the parts.

Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) process, various heat treatments and their combinations were applied to the AlSi10Mg parts produced by direct laser metal sintering (DMLS).

It has been found that the HIP process, which is a post-processing process, reduces the amount of porosity in DMLS-AlSi10Mg material, thus improves corrosion resistance significantly.

In this study, the HIP process and subsequent T6 heat treatments were applied to AlSi10Mg parts produced by the DMLS technique. The study aims to increase the corrosion resistance of AlSi10Mg parts by reducing porosity with the HIP process and by altering the microstructure with the T6 process.

Najib Mahfuz is the first Arab‐language author to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Born in 1911 the son of a middle‐class Jamaliyah merchant, he became the most popular novelist in Egypt and the Arab countries.

The purpose of this study was to examine the process of embedding values implemented by excellent teachers in teaching Islamic education in the multi-cultural society.

This study was a qualitative study, which used a combination of in-depth interviews, observation and document analysis for data collection. Using a purposive sampling technique, seven excellent Islamic education teachers were selected. The data were analysed using Atlas.ti 7.1.7.

The findings of the study show the process of embedding values among excellent teachers include the following aspects: teachers take into consideration the various differences among individuals in their classes, especially of learners’ names and family backgrounds, humour elements, praising of students, lectures, repetition practical areas, problem-solving and question and answer sessions. A variety of methods are used in the process of embedding values including two-way interactions between teachers and students. Teaching happens in stages that link to the cognitive level of the students and these learning environments allow the values to be exposed, taught and personally experienced by the students.

This study shows that teachers should use various types of teaching methods, i.e. light-hearted element, praising students, lectures, repetition, practical areas, problem-solving and question and answer sessions, to embed values during the lessons of Islamic education. Interaction between students and teachers takes place and creates a transformative process of knowledge and allowing the positive values to be taught effectively. They start to learn and appreciate the values of others and also be able to practice them in their daily lives. The students were exposed to the diversity of culture and various types of background of their friends. The awareness of the teachers in creating a learning environment that is sensitive to all students is very important. Thus, these methods should be taken into consideration by teachers to teach values and should be exposed during teacher training so they are able to implement them in the classroom.

This paper explores and describes methods of embedding of values used by excellent Islamic education teachers in the lessons of Islamic education. There are very few studies conducted in this area and this qualitative study is focussed on how values are thought in the lessons of Islamic education. These findings can be used by educators to improve the quality of the lessons based on most effective teaching methods used by the teachers in the lessons of Islamic education.

Competitive intelligence (CI) collects data through the distribution of knowledge to make decisions in a competitive environment. To better comprehend the concept of CI, the purpose of this paper is to determine the role of effective factors (knowledge sharing, competitor information, information technology (IT) and organizational culture) and their impact on CI. In addition, the paper provides a conceptual framework for determining the practical factors on CI.

For evaluating the elements of the model, a questionnaire is considered. Questionnaires were reread by specialists with significant experiences in the CI field. For statistical analysis, the SPSS 22 and SmartPLS 3.2 software package is also used.

Findings from the study showed the validity of the model for a CI assessment. Furthermore, the results confirmed that the competitor information significantly influenced CI. In addition, the obtained results implied that IT has a significant and positive influence on CI. The effect of organizational culture on CI also proved to be positive and significant.

This paper makes significant contributions for both researchers and practitioners; however, the authors determine some limitations, which are as follows: First, the authors showed the result in a single region. It cannot be assured that the results are generalizable to other areas. Second, because of time and financial constraints, the authors gathered the data using a sample from a single location. Third, the use of variables to depict CI may be not exhaustive. The authors, therefore, encourage future research to study these CI dimensions.

This study meaningfully contributes to the knowledge and literature by focusing more on CI, examining other significant aspects and applying advanced statistical analysis method. Also, current research results suggest practical implications for marketing practitioners and managers who implemented tools and made strategic plans to enhance the organization’s performance. From a practical perspective, the statistical results support the crucial role of the following factors: IT, competitor information, organizational culture and knowledge sharing on CI.

Experts in the area of knowledge management, CI and strategic management can use this study to gain a competitive advantage based on knowledge and information resources. Organizations must have knowledge management function and CI to support the strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the extent of adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) within three major South Asian countries – India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach – We selected 566 non-financial listed companies for the financial year 1997–1998. Fifty-two measurement practices and 72 disclosure practices were drawn from 15 commonly adopted IFRS.

Findings – We find that the overall level of adoption of IFRS regarding measurement and disclosure practices is higher in Pakistan compared with India and Bangladesh. We also find that the adoption level is high for inventories, income statement for the period, research and development costs, retirement benefit costs, foreign currency translations, business combination and accounting for investment in associates, whereas the adoption level is low in the areas of cash flow statements, taxes on income, property, plant and equipment, accounting for leases, accounting for government grants, borrowing costs and consolidated financial statements.

Originality/value – Adoption of IFRS issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) by listed companies has been a subject of immense interest among accounting standard setters, practitioners and academics throughout the world. South Asian countries have adopted IFRS, either fully or with minor modifications, with a view to improving the quality of financial reporting. This article is one of few that examines this important issue and concludes with some suggestions for improving the adoption levels within South Asia.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of consumers' intention to adopt or continue to use Internet-only banks based on the benefit–risk framework and network externality theory. It also examines the difference in the determinants between pre- and postadoption stages of innovation.

The proposed research model was tested by using online survey data collected from a South Korean sample, which was divided into two subgroups of 321 nonadopters and 351 existing users.

In both pre- and postadoption stages, the number of services provided and trust had a significant positive impact on consumers' behavioral intentions, while security risks had a negative impact. Critical mass in the preadoption stage and convenience and economic efficiency in the postadoption stage had positive effects on consumer's adoption intention and continuance intention, respectively.

Internet-only banks must reduce the security risks for consumers and increase their trust. In addition, to facilitate the adoption of nonadopters, focus should be on securing a critical mass; on the other hand, to promote the continued use of existing users, the focus should be on enhancing benefits such as convenience and economic efficiency.

The results of this study confirm the influence of network externalities on consumers' adoption and use of financial technology services and show differences in consumer decision-making according to the innovation diffusion process.

Construction material management is an important process in supporting construction operations that affect project performance. Previous studies attempt to identify factors influencing material management in different stages such as procurement, transportation and utilization. However, they lack a model to explain the relationship between influential factors and the effectiveness of material management. Therefore, this study aims to validate the variables and key factors influencing the effectiveness of material management processes.

A total of 42 variables were reviewed from literature in different stages of material management process. Survey questionnaires were used to collect data about participants' perceptions on these variables. The respondents were 200 project engineers and project managers from construction sites and offices in Vietnam. Then factor analysis techniques were undertaken to validate the structure of factor groups. Two methods of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were, respectively, performed to evaluate and verify the model's fit.

Factors influencing the effectiveness of material management were grouped into nine main factors, which are procurement issues, site conditions, planning and handling on site, industrial environments, contractual issues, quality control, suppliers and manufacturers' issues, transportation in and out site and security on site.

The paper has several implications for theory and methodology related to material management. It features influential factors in association with the material management effectiveness. Therefore, senior managers can more fully understand the errors in their works and propose timely solutions to limit the unwanted risks.

This research contributes on theoretical development on factors influencing effectiveness of material management processes. The key findings on influential factors can be applied to measure the effectiveness of material management processes.

The purpose of this study is to understand the development of social capital in an Arab business environment, and provide an in-depth description of the nature and role of three key Arabic business relationship characteristics (ehsan, et-moone and wasta), their impact on each other and key influencing factors.

A qualitative research design was used, in which face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with innovation teams (22 team members) at six industrial small and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, then analyzed (thematic coding) through NVivo.

The findings suggest that wasta, ehsan and et-moone align closely with the three social capital dimensions (structural, cognitive and relational); thus, developing these three relationship characteristics most likely results in developing social capital. The findings also expand the description of the three business relationship characteristics. Moreover, ehsan, et-moone and wasta appear to influence each other, and are affected by other factors such as an individual’s age and position, and the duration of the relationship. Ehsan has a positive influence on the development of et-moone, while the existence of et-moone appears to be necessary for the establishment of wasta-capital. A high level of ehsan might influence the relationship between et-moone and wasta-use and limit the negative usage of wasta.

International managers can improve the level of ehsan in their organizational and business relationships through assigning incentives and playing the role of moral champion to encourage ehsan behavior. Managers aiming to increase et-moone may choose team members with a high level of ehsan, emphasizing the development of personal relationships, and providing opportunities for socialization both inside and outside the workplace. A high level of ehsan and et-moone will assist managers to develop and use wasta.

This study makes a threefold contribution to the literature. First, it provides an expanded description of the three Arabic business relationship characteristics and how they align closely with the dimensions of social capital. Wasta aligns with the structural dimension and ehsan aligns with the cognitive dimension, while et-moone aligns closely with the relational dimension. Second, it suggests and shows how the three relationship characteristics might interact with each other. Ehsan appears to influence et-moone, and also the relationship between et-moone and wasta. Et-moone appears to have a positive influence on wasta use. Third, the findings also indicate that there might be other factors (e.g. age and position) that influence the interactions between the three business relationship characteristics.