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The purpose of this research is to explore the employer and employee perspectives about the employability skills of skilful jobs. The research is conducted in a developing country (Palestine) which has a high percentage of university graduates, high unemployment rate and intense job competition. This paper defines skilful jobs as those that require employees who have attended a college or university and have completed a two-year diploma or a four-year degree.

This research integrates the components of discussion with local experts in the skilled labour market, primary data from employers (N = 415) and primary data from employees (N = 880). Binary logistic regression is used to measure the relationship between the dependent variable (likelihood of hire or not hire) and independent variables (job applicants' hard and soft skills).

The results from both employer and employee data revealed that the previous work experience, computer skills, professional certifications and high grade point average have significant impact on hiring and recruitment in the skilful jobs. In addition to these, the employers seek applicants who have communication skills. However, the employees consider personal relationship with employers to be a highly significant factor in accepting job offers.

To increase their likelihood of obtaining a skilful job, and then sustaining it, the job seekers should hone their soft skills and acquire professional certifications. The universities should adapt their curriculum to match these skills and move their focus from disciplinary knowledge to competencies. The public policy makers should design awareness and capacity building programmes that will facilitate the recent graduates' integration into the labour market. The empirical model in this study shows that previous work experience is the most important recruitment factor for employers – accordingly, creating internships and apprenticeship opportunities would be its clear policy implication.

The study contributes to the literature by providing a parsimonious employability model of skilful jobs, which fits as much as possible the perspectives of the employers and employees about the employability skills in a developing country.

Service quality and customer satisfaction influence the financial performance of service organizations. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the path relationship of service quality to customer satisfaction to financial sustainability in the water service sector, which is vital to the sustainable future of mankind. Further, these three interrelated constructs and their dimensions are clearly articulated.

SERVQUAL questionnaire responses were collected from 635 household families, and the financial sustainability indicators of 56 water providers were gathered as well. Cronbach's alpha and factor analysis were conducted to measure the internal consistency and convergent validity. Path analysis was utilized to evaluate the causal diagram by examining the relationships among service quality, customer satisfaction and financial sustainability using the AMOS software package.

The results showed that the five dimensions of service quality explain 58% of the customer satisfaction variation. The responsiveness, empathy, assurance and reliability have significant impact on the customer satisfaction where p < 0.05, while the tangible dimension has an insignificant effect. The results also revealed that customer satisfaction has a significant impact on the financial sustainability indicators of the water providers, where p = 0.000 for the debt collection ratio indicator, and p = 0.003 for the financial efficiency ratio indicator.

This research on financial sustainability is based on evidence about service quality and customer satisfaction in the Palestinian water sector. Future research on financial sustainability of the water sector may focus on the pricing mechanism and debt collection of water service.

The findings suggest that water providers should recognize the importance of service quality dimensions, which strengthen the customer satisfaction, which, in turn, is a significant driver for their financial sustainability. It is, therefore, sound to draw action-oriented managerial implications from these results.

The study adds to the literature of water service sector and is based on empirical evidence from primary data of household families and secondary data of water service providers from developing countries. This paper also contributes toward the strengthening of sustainability of the water service sector in Palestine – a worthy humanitarian cause. The study provides evidence useful for policy makers toward carving out policies aimed at strengthening the financial sustainability of the water service sector.

The purpose of this qualitative paper is to identify and amplify the voice of those experts who advise practitioners faced with foreign market entry decisions. This paper reports the importance that experts place on the rule of law, a positive ethical climate in host nations and the experts’ knowledge of investment financial performance after five years of the initial foreign market entry.

The sample included 12 experienced expert professional interviewees who spent careers with publicly held multinational corporations, attorneys who advised multinational corporation officers, arbitrators with significant international dispute resolution experience, corporate ethics compliance experts, small global entrepreneurial business owners and an academic specializing in international commercial law and dispute resolution.

The rule of law and ethical climate significantly influence private market entry mode, dispute resolution choices and the likelihood of financial success. Finally, the findings illuminate the importance of the rule of law and a positive ethical climate in private foreign market entry decisions and their managerial and policy implications.

This study lays the foundation for the development of propositions to understand better the significant role of the rule of law in the private foreign investment decision-making process and the financial performance of the foreign investment.

Several studies have examined the relationship between service quality and willingness to pay in many industries. However, this relationship has not been explored through the lens of customer perceived value and their willingness to pay for improving and sustaining water service. This study aims to examine the impact of technical and functional service quality dimensions on customer perceived value and assess the influence of customer perceived value and socio-economic factors on customers' willingness to pay for improving and sustaining the water service.

Technical service quality includes core water service such as water delivery and maintenance, while functional service quality refers to the appearance of facilities, employees’ dress, and communication. SERVQUAL questionnaire responses were collected from 333 Palestinian household customers. Cronbach’s alpha was conducted to measure internal consistency and convergent validity. Path analysis was utilized to evaluate a causal diagram by examining the relationships among the constructs.

The results showed that technical and functional service quality and relative price explain 52% of the customer perceived value variation. Additionally, the results revealed that customer perceived value, technical service quality, and relative price significantly impact the customer’s willingness to pay for improving and sustaining service. In contrast, the functional service quality and socio-economic factors have insignificant effects. These predictors explain 60% of the customer’s willingness to pay for improving and sustaining service.

The study suggests that water providers should prioritize improving and sustaining technical service quality to increase customer willingness to pay. Furthermore, they should be aware that other factors, such as employee appearance and politeness, are less influential in driving customers’ willingness to pay.

The study presents a water service improvement model that utilizes data from a developing country to assess the influence of perceived customer value, along with its dimensions, on the willingness to pay for improving and sustaining water service quality.

Functionally graded materials are a special class of composites in which material are graded either continuously or layered wise depending upon its applications. With such variations of materials, the properties of structure vary either lengthwise or thickness wise. This paper aims to investigate models for effective estimation of material properties, as it is necessary for industries to identify the properties of composites or functionally graded materials (FGM’s) before manufacturing and also to develop novel material combinations.

Available models were compared for different material combinations and tested with experimental data for properties such as Young’s modulus, density, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and thermal conductivity. Combinations of metal–ceramic and metal–metal were selected such that their ratios cover a wide range of materials.

This study reveals different models will be required depending on the material used and properties to be identified.

The results of the present work will help researchers in the effective modeling of composites or FGM’s for any analysis.

This paper presents a comparison and review of various analytical methods with experimental data graphically to find out the best suitable method. For the first time, the Halpin-Tsai model was extended in the analysis of the CTE which shows good approximations.

The limit elastic speed of rotating disk is an important design criterion, as it defines the limit before onset of yielding initiates. The purpose of this paper is to establish the limit elastic speeds for S-FG disks and report the stresses induced at such speeds.

For S-FGM disk, effective Young’s modulus is calculated using modified rule of mixture and subsequently effective yield stress is also calculated by taking into consideration of stress-strain transfer ratio. The S-FGM disk is subject to centrifugal loading and the stress and deformation characteristics are investigated using variational principle wherein the solution is obtained by Galerkin’s error minimization principle. Based on von-Mises yield criteria, equivalent stress is calculated at different angular speeds till the equivalent stress at any given location in the disk attains the value of effective yield stress at the given location (location of yield initiation). This defines the limit elastic speed for the S-FGM disk (for given n).

The limit elastic speed of S-FGM disks for a range of grading index (n) and corresponding stresses within the disk are reported. Results are reported for uniform disks of different aspect ratio and the results reported could be used as practical design data.

Functional grading of material in structures opens a new horizon to explore the possibility of manufacturing high strength component at low weight. Material grading plays a significant role in achieving desired material properties, and literature review reveals reporting of numerous grading functions to approximate material distribution in structure.

The work has not been addressed earlier and findings provide a pioneering insight into the performance of S-FG disks.

The overall goal of science is to build a valid and reliable body of knowledge about the functioning of the world and how applying that knowledge can change it. As personnel and human resources management researchers, we aim to contribute to the respective bodies of knowledge to provide both employers and employees with a workable foundation to help with those problems they are confronted with. However, what research on research has consistently demonstrated is that the scientific endeavor possesses existential issues including a substantial lack of (a) solid theory, (b) replicability, (c) reproducibility, (d) proper and generalizable samples, (e) sufficient quality control (i.e., peer review), (f) robust and trustworthy statistical results, (g) availability of research, and (h) sufficient practical implications. In this chapter, we first sing a song of sorrow regarding the current state of the social sciences in general and personnel and human resources management specifically. Then, we investigate potential grievances that might have led to it (i.e., questionable research practices, misplaced incentives), only to end with a verse of hope by outlining an avenue for betterment (i.e., open science and policy changes at multiple levels).

This chapter discusses and investigates the sustainability reporting across different sectors. The first section discusses and investigates the relationship between sustainability reporting and primary sector's performance (Agriculture and Food Industries Sector and Energy Sector). The second section discusses and investigates the relationship between sustainability reporting and secondary sector's performance (Manufacturing Sector). The final section discusses and investigates the relationship between sustainability reporting and tertiary sector's performance (Banks and Financial Services Sector, Retail Sector, Telecommunication and Information Technology Sector, and Tourism Sector).

This study aims to identify factors affecting tourists’ intention of using travel apps installed in their smartphones.

A questionnaire was developed largely based on the available scales in the published literature. A total of 389 participants responded to the survey, out of which 343 valid responses were obtained for statistical analysis.

Significant predictors of smartphone app usage intention included performance expectancy, social influence, price saving, perceived risk, perceived trust and prior usage habits. Usage behavior was largely mediated by usage intention, except in the case of habits. Contrary to the expectation, factors such as hedonistic motivation, facilitating conditions or effort expectancy did not impact usage intention or behavior.

The study gives app developers vital cues on tourist expectations from the apps. Oftentimes, developers tend to focus entirely on the material utility of their apps, neglecting every other factor influencing use. One particular implication is that despite tourism being a hedonistic activity, travel app usage behavior is not a hedonistic activity.

This is one of the few studies to examine adoption of smartphone travel apps in an emerging economy context by using extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology framework with additional constructs.

本研究旨在于鉴定游客安装旅游手机APP的影响因素。

本论文采用问卷形式进行采样。在389人的样本中，本研究共获得343有效数据以用于数据分析。

经本研究鉴定，影响游客安装手机旅游APP的因素包括：性能预期、社会影响力、节约成本、感知风险、使用习惯。其中，使用动机为影响因素（使用习惯除外）是作用于使用行为的中间变量。与原本研究预期相左，诸如享乐主义的动机、便利条件、以及努力期望等因素对使用动机和使用行为并没有显著作用。

本研究结果对于APP开发商将如何达到游客期望有着至关重要的启迪。开发商往往会专注于APP的物理性能方面的开发，忽视了其他影响APP使用的因素作用。本论文其中一个重要的实际应用价值在于，虽然旅游业是享乐主义的活动，旅游APP的使用行为却大相径庭。

本研究是少数几篇以新型经济体为背景，采用延伸整合型科技接受模式(UTAUT2)为理论框架，研究旅游APP使用情况的论文。