| 1. |
- Ahmad, Naveed, et al.
(författare)
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Improving Firm’s Economic and Environmental Performance Through the Sustainable and Innovative Environment : Evidence From an Emerging Economy
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Businesses in the present era are dealing with a complex and unprecedented brew of social, environmental, and technological trends. This requires sophisticated, sustainability-based management. Yet organizations are often reluctant to place sustainability core to their business strategies with the mistaken belief that the costs associated with environmental investments outweigh the benefits. The Global Climate Risk Index has placed Pakistan on 5th position in the list of nations, most susceptible to climate change in its recent report. Pakistan lost the lives of 9,989 people, incurred economic losses of $ 3.8 billion, and faced 152 shocking climates between 1999 and 2018. Based on this information, it is established that Pakistan’s susceptibility to climate change is growing unprecedentedly and industrial pollution is one of the biggest contributors in this respect. The country needs to take emergency measures to address this issue. With this background, the present study aims to investigate the impact of environmental sustainability on environmental and economic performance (EP) with the mediating effect of environmental innovation (EI) in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. The results show that environmental sustainability is a significant predictor of environmental performance and EP and EI mediates this relationship. The findings of the present study provide better insights to policymakers to address the environmental degradation, resulting from industrial pollution.
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| 2. |
- Abd Ali, Ziad T., et al.
(författare)
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Predominant mechanisms for the removal of nickel metal ion from aqueous solution using cement kiln dust
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Water Process Engineering. - : Elsevier BV. - 2214-7144. ; 33
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The experimental methodology achieved in the present study signified that the adsorption and precipitation were main mechanisms occurred together in the removal of nickel from aqueous solution by sorption using cement kiln dust (CKD) byproduct as sorbent. Finding the contribution of each mechanism in the removal process and derivation an analytical model for finding the portion of precipitation were the focal points of this work. Results proved that pure precipitation was increased with the increase of CKD dosage and metal concentration where total removal (adsorption-precipitation) ranged from 45 to 100%. The SEM micrographs of the CKD sorbent before and after sorption process certified that there was crystal precipitates on the surface of the CKD. Also, these graphs in combination with FT-IR tests proved that [Ni(OH2)n]+2 (n=4-6) species were bonded with CKD and insoluble hydroxide species may be precipitated onto the CaO surfaces by co-precipitation, while K–O, Si-O and Ca-O groups enhanced the adsorption mechanism.
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| 3. |
- Abed, Suhail N., et al.
(författare)
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Phytoremediation performance of floating treatment wetlands with pelletized mine water sludge for synthetic greywater treatment
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Health Science & Engineering (Online). - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2052-336X. ; 17:2, s. 581-608
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Buckets containing floating reed (Phragmites australis) simulated floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) and were used to improve the remediation performance of synthetic greywater (SGW). The aim of the study was to investigate the behaviour of FTWs for treatment of key contaminants within artificial greywater. Methods: Pelletized ochre based on acid mine water sludge was introduced to selected FTWs, because of its capability in sequestration phosphorus and other trace elements. The impact of the following four operational variables were tested in the experimental set-ups of the FTWs (four replicates each): pollutant strength (high- (HC) and low- (LC) concentrations), treatment time (2- or 7-days of hydraulic retention time (HRT)), presence or absence of macrophytes (P. australis) and cement-ochre pellets. Results: The results showed that 5 - day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demands (COD) were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in all wetlands. Nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) concentrations were significantly (p < 0.05) higher, and those measurements for PO4-P were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than the corresponding ones determined for the influent. The existence of ochre pellets with P. australis significantly (p < 0.05) decreased B, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mg, Ni and Zn concentrations, but increased Al, Ca, Fe and K concentrations in the effluent, with the exception of sodium (Na). Conclusions: The FTW performances can be improved by utilising ochre-cement pellets to increase the pH of greywater. The presence of P. australis acts as a buffer to neutralise the pH of SGW. Rhizomes and biofilms mitigate increases in turbidity, TSS and colour values.
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| 4. |
- Abed, Suhail N., et al.
(författare)
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Remediation of synthetic greywater in mesocosm—Scale floating treatment wetlands
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecological Engineering. - : Elsevier BV. - 0925-8574. ; 102, s. 303-319
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two different chemical recipes comprising various pollutants were selected to create high (HC) and low (LC) levels of contaminated synthetic greywaters (SGW). Remediation in macrocosm–scale floating treatment wetlands (FTW) vegetated with Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (common reed) was investigated under natural weather conditions. The presence or absence of vegetation, short or long contact time of treatment, and low or high contamination loads are the main operational variables in the experimental set-up design of the FTW. The focus on removal processes (other than sedimentation) such as the role of macrophytes in phytoremediation was achieved by agitation of the treated outflow before sampling. To assess the impact of interactions between the experimental operational variables on removal performances of FTW, different approaches of statistical analysis were applied. The results revealed that total suspended solids (TSS) and turbidity values dropped significantly (p < 0.05) in the presence of vegetation compared with those values from unvegetated wetlands. The presence of vegetation can significantly (p < 0.05) improve the biodegradation possibility of greywater by increasing the five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and decreasing the chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations. In vegetated FTW, higher removal rates of COD can be achieved when treating HC-SGS compared to LC-SGW. However, no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the removal of BOD was noted. Significant increases (p < 0.05) in BOD concentrations have been recorded with increasing contact time of treatment, while high removals of COD have been recorded. The presence of vegetation in wetlands affected significantly (p < 0.05) the decrease of dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in outflow of both types of greywater. If limited sources of organic matter are available, vegetation has significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced the nutrient balance with increasing nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) and decreasing ortho-phosphate-phosphorus (PO4-P) concentrations in the outflow. Furthermore, significant increases (p < 0.05) in ammonia-nitrogen (NH4-N) and DO were observed with increasing contact time, while TSS, turbidity, and NO3-N concentrations significantly decreased (p < 0.05). In addition, yellow leaves and considerably lower growth rates were observed for the hydroponic plant rhizomes of P. australis, which might be an effect of light-induced fluorescein degradation due to the relatively open water surfaces of the wetlands.
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| 5. |
- Abed, Suhail N., et al.
(författare)
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Treatment of contaminated greywater using pelletised mine water sludge
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-4797. ; 197, s. 10-23
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Precipitated sludge (ochre) obtained from a mine water treatment plant was considered as an adsorbent substance for pollutants, since ochre is relatively free from problematic levels of toxic elements, which could impair on the quality of water to be treated. Artificially created ochre pellets from mixing Portland cement with raw ochre sludge were utilised to remediate either high (HC) or low (LC) contaminated synthetic greywater (SGW) in mesocosm–scale stabilisation ponds at 2–day and 7–day contact times under real weather conditions in Salford. After a specific retention time, treated SGW was agitated before sampling to evaluate pollutant removal mechanisms (other than sedimentation) such as adsorption by ochre pellets, before replacing the treated water with new inflow SGW. The results showed that cement–ochre pellets have a high ability to adsorb ortho–phosphate–phosphorous (PO4–P) significantly (p < 0.05) by 70.7% and 56.0% at 7–day contact time for HC–SGW and LC–SGW, respectively. After the experiment, an analysis revealed that elements such as boron (B), cadmium (Cd), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) accumulated significantly (p < 0.05) within the ochre pellets. The notable accumulation of Cd within ochre pellets reflects the significant (p < 0.05) remediation of greywater during the first 35 and 20 successive times of treatment for HC–SGW at 2– and 7–day contact times, respectively. Cadmium was still adsorbed significantly (p < 0.05) during the treatment of LC–SGW. However, the calcium (Ca) content decreased significantly (p < 0.05) within ochre pellets treating both types of greywaters due to mobilisation. The corresponding increases of Ca in greywater were significant (p < 0.05).
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| 6. |
- Afan, Haitham Abdulmohsin, et al.
(författare)
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Thermal and Hydraulic Performances of Carbon and Metallic Oxides-Based Nanomaterials
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nanomaterials. - : MDPI AG. - 2079-4991. ; 12:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For companies, notably in the realms of energy and power supply, the essential requirement for highly efficient thermal transport solutions has become a serious concern. Current research highlighted the use of metallic oxides and carbon-based nanofluids as heat transfer fluids. This work examined two carbon forms (PEG@GNPs & PEG@TGr) and two types of metallic oxides (Al2O3 & SiO2) in a square heated pipe in the mass fraction of 0.1 wt.%. Laboratory conditions were as follows: 6401 ≤ Re ≤ 11,907 and wall heat flux = 11,205 W/m2. The effective thermal–physical and heat transfer properties were assessed for fully developed turbulent fluid flow at 20–60 °C. The thermal and hydraulic performances of nanofluids were rated in terms of pumping power, performance index (PI), and performance evaluation criteria (PEC). The heat transfer coefficients of the nanofluids improved the most: PEG@GNPs = 44.4%, PEG@TGr = 41.2%, Al2O3 = 22.5%, and SiO2 = 24%. Meanwhile, the highest augmentation in the Nu of the nanofluids was as follows: PEG@GNPs = 35%, PEG@TGr = 30.1%, Al2O3 = 20.6%, and SiO2 = 21.9%. The pressure loss and friction factor increased the highest, by 20.8–23.7% and 3.57–3.85%, respectively. In the end, the general performance of nanofluids has shown that they would be a good alternative to the traditional working fluids in heat transfer requests.
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| 7. |
- Ahmad, Naveed, et al.
(författare)
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A CSR perspective to foster employee creativity in the banking sector : The role of work engagement and psychological safety
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. - : Elsevier BV. - 0969-6989. ; 67
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The entire service sector has acknowledged the importance of employee creativity. However, the underlying mechanism due to which employees are engaged in creativity has been relatively unexplored. Moreover, where the banking service sector in advanced countries has realized the potential role of employee creativity for a bank's success, the same was not fully realized in the context of a developing country, especially in Pakistan. Against this backdrop, the current study is an effort to explore the underlying mechanism of employee creativity as an outcome of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with the mediating effects of work engagement (WE) and psychological safety (PS) in the banking sector of Pakistan. Data were collected (n = 483) from banking employees through a self-administered questionnaire, which used the paper and pencil method. The hypotheses of the current survey were validated by employing structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS software. The results confirmed that employee creativity, as an outcome of CSR, was significantly influenced by the CSR orientation of a bank. Furthermore, PS and WE produced a significant mediation effect (41%) between the relationship of CSR and employee creativity. The findings of the current study are helpful to the banking sector of Pakistan in understanding the CSR-employee creativity mechanism, which is of utmost importance from the standpoint of competition.
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| 8. |
- Ahmad, Naveed, et al.
(författare)
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Corporate social responsibility at the micro-level as a “new organizational value” for sustainability : Are females more aligned towards it?
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 18:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While prior studies have largely addressed corporate social responsibility (CSR) at a macro or institutional level, its importance at the micro or individual level is to date underexplored, especially in the context of developing economies. Further, it is not clear from the studies in the extant literature how the role of females is more important in the context of environmental management as compared to males. Similarly, micro-level CSR (MCSR) is emerging as a “new organizational value”, and the organizations that acknowledge this “new organizational value” and incorporate it into their business operations are likely to achieve sustainability objectives far better as compared to their counterparts. The present study investigates the impact of MCSR on employees’ pro-environmental behavior with the moderating effect of gender in the healthcare sector of Pakistan. The data were collected from five large hospitals in the city of Lahore through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS software. A total of 533 out of 800 responses were received, which were used for data analysis of the present study. The results revealed that MCSR positively influences employee’s pro-environmental behavior, and gender moderates this relationship but the moderating effect of females is stronger as compared to males. The findings of the present study would help policymakers understand the importance of MCSR as a “new organizational value” to influence employees’ pro-environmental behavior with a special focus to promote the proactive role of females at workplaces.
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| 9. |
- Ahmad, Naveed, et al.
(författare)
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Csr communication through social media : A litmus test for banking consumers’ loyalty
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainability (Switzerland). - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 13:4, s. 1-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prior literature in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has largely focused on investigating its relationship with organizational-related outcomes, whereas the impact of CSR on consumer behavior is largely ignored in the recent literature. Further, most of the prior studies have investigated CSR with a philanthropic viewpoint, but its importance in achieving marketing-related outcomes is something that is to date, underexplored. Hence, the aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of CSR communication through social media on consumer loyalty with the mediating effect of consumers’ brand admiration in the banking sector of Pakistan. The banking sector was selected due to the reason that this sector is homogenized in nature and creating consumers’ loyalty due to this homogenized character of this sector is challenging. The data of the present study were collected from different banking consumers through an adapted questionnaire on a five-point Likert scale. A total of 448 fully filled questionnaires were received which included 289 male and 159 female banking consumers. The results of the present study revealed that CSR communications through social media have a positive impact on consumer loyalty, and consum-ers’ brand admiration partially mediates this relationship. The findings of the present study would help policymakers from banking institutions to use CSR strategy from the perspective of marketing which is undoubtedly very important for every organization in the current digital age.
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| 10. |
- Ahmad, Naveed, et al.
(författare)
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Relationship between corporate social responsibility at the micro-level and environmental performance : The mediating role of employee pro-environmental behavior and the moderating role of gender
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainable Production and Consumption. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-5509. ; 27, s. 1138-1148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since Pakistan is vulnerable to changing climatic conditions, the country needs emergency measures at every level to mitigate their effect. Many studies have addressed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the macro or institutional level, but its effect at the micro-level is largely ignored in the contemporary literature. The present study aims at filling this gap by highlighting the role of micro-level CSR on Environmental Performance (ENP) and how it is influenced by employees’ pro-environmental (PEB) behavior and gender. This study has been carried out in the context of deteriorating environmental conditions, scarce CSR activities and a male dominant society. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire targeting the manufacturing and the service sectors of Pakistan and analyzed through the structural equation modeling technique, using AMOS and SPSS software. The results of this study confirm that micro-level CSR initiatives directly (β = 0.39⁎⁎) and indirectly (β = 0.031⁎⁎) influence the environmental performance of an organization by means of employees’ PEB. A conditional indirect gender effect on this interaction was also observed, with women (β =0.17⁎⁎) exerting a stronger effect than men (β = 0.031⁎⁎). These findings may be helpful for policymakers involved in environmental management: It is possible to reduce the environmental footprint of Pakistan's organizations by encouraging employee's PEB and particularly by actively involving women which are systematically set apart from decision making in Pakistan.
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