Incorporating Antimicrobial Activity During Synthesis of New Acid-Azo Dyes: Thermal Stability and Application on Various Fabrics.

BACKGROUND: Textile materials are susceptible to microbial attack as they provide suitable conditions for their growth. The microbes grow with normal body secretions on garments. These microbes are responsible for the weakening, brittleness, and discoloration of the substrate. Furthermore, they cause many health issues to the wearer, including dermal infection, bad odour etc. They threaten the human health as well as create tenderness in fabric. OBJECTIVES: Usually, antimicrobial textiles are prepared by applying antimicrobial finishes after dyeing, which is an expensive approach. Concerning these adversities, in the present study, a series of antimicrobial acid-azo dyes have been synthesized by incorporating antimicrobial sulphonamide moiety into the dye molecules during its synthesis. METHODS: A commercially available sulphonamide-based compound, sulfadimidine Na-salt was used as a diazonium component and coupled with different aromatic amines to get desired dye molecules. Since dyeing and finishing are two separate energy-intensive processes, in the current research work, an approach to combine both processes in one step has been adopted that would be economical, timesaving, and environment friendly. Structures of the resultant dye molecules have been confirmed using different spectral techniques such as Mass spectrometry, 1H-NMR spectroscopy, FT-IR, and UV-Visible spectroscopy. RESULTS: Thermal stability of the synthesized dyes was also determined. These dyes have been applied to wool and nylon-6 fabrics. Their various fastness properties were examined using ISO standard methods. CONCLUSION: All the compounds exhibited good to excellent fastness properties. The synthesized dyes and the dyed fabrics were screened biologically against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 and Escherichia coli ATCC 10536, resulting in significant antibacterial activities.

Estimating environmental efficiency of the selected Asian countries: does convergence exist?

Environmental degradation has attained much attention from researchers and policymakers at national and global levels. The ever-increasing energy use in production methods is considered one of the fundamental reasons for environmental degradation. The concept of environmental efficiency in the wake of sustainable growth evolved in the last three decades. The present study has been designed to estimate environmental efficiency using the Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index (MLI) using annual data from 43 Asian countries from 1990 to 2019. The MLI is an established econometric approach to estimate cases where input variables are used to get output variables in desirable and undesirable forms. Labor, capital, and energy consumption are input variables, while carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (undesirable variable) and gross domestic product (undesirable variable) are taken as output variables. The results suggested that, on average, environmental efficiency has decreased by 0.3% over the period in selected Asian countries. Cambodia, Turkey, and Nepal have the highest total factor productivity (TFP) output growth rate on average among 43 Asian countries. These countries are excellent examples of sustainable development that balances environmental protection and efficiency. On the other hand, Kuwait, Mongolia, and Yemen showed the least TFP growth. The study also employed unconditional and convergence tests where the countries' conditional convergence is based on foreign direct investment, population density, inflation, industrialization, and globalization. Some policy implications for Asian countries are also discussed at the end of the study.

Will I speak up or remain silent? Workplace ostracism and employee performance based on self-control perspective.

Drawing on the self-control perspective, this study investigated the buffering effect of emotional suppression in reducing the harmful influence of workplace ostracism on employee performance. The research also studied the mediating role of employee silence and voice behaviors based on social exchange theory. We performed moderated mediation analysis on responses received from 159 employees working in the financial industry of the Southern Punjab region of Pakistan. The results showed that workplace ostracism harms employee performance via employee silence and voice behaviors. Furthermore, emotional suppression moderated the mediated relationship between workplace ostracism and employee performance. The results indicated that if ostracized employees adopt voice behavior, emotional suppression cannot aid them in performing better as compared to those who remain silent and regain their self-esteem. Our findings highlight the importance of emotional suppression capability in reducing the damaging outcomes of ostracism in organizational settings.

Female Entrepreneurial Intentions in Pakistan: A Theory of Planned Behavior Perspective.

With theoretical underpinnings in the theory of planned behavior, this research aims at investigating how women's entrepreneurial intentions might develop in Pakistan. The survey of 216 female students revealed that psychological capital plays an important role in shaping women's entrepreneurial commitment which in turn results in increased intentions to opt for entrepreneurship as a career. Additionally, it was observed that social support moderates the indirect relation in such a way that in the presence of high social support, the association between psychological capital and intentions via commitment is further strengthened. Because women face comparatively more barriers in paid career, therefore it was necessary to study the mechanism and driver that can improve their entrepreneurial intentions, since they represent an untapped resource that might be utilized to improve the economic prospects of a country. The study bridges a significant knowledge gap in utilizing psychological capital to enhance female's entrepreneurial intentions, who are under constant pressure of juggling multiple roles at work and home.

How Does Workplace Ostracism Lead to Service Sabotage Behavior in Nurses: A Conservation of Resources Perspective.

This article aims to investigate how workplace ostracism acts as a motive behind customer service sabotage. We examine the role of stress as a meditating variable along with the moderation of perceived organizational support (POS) on the said association by using conservation of resources and equity theory. A total of 217 nurses from hospitals of the southern Punjab region in Pakistan participated in the study. Data were collected through survey and structured questionnaires. SPSS and AMOS were used to analyze data with the latest techniques of bootstrapping and process macros. The results showed that stress mediated between the association of workplace ostracism and service sabotage behavior. POS was confirmed as a moderator between this relationship. POS buffered the harmful effects of ostracism and stress on customer service, as POS demonstrates to personnel that they are cherished and respected by the organization. This lessens the strength of perceived stress due to workplace ostracism. Organizational leadership should take advantage of the stress-alleviating effect of POS, which is important in producing adequate levels of work performance.

Mitigating effect of perceived organizational support on stress in the presence of workplace ostracism in the Pakistani nursing sector.

BACKGROUND: Nursing has a reputation for being a predominantly stressful profession. Prior studies focus on the overt antecedents of stress like bullying, harassment, and verbal aggression from patients as well as colleagues. Employee stress has been receiving attention for decades, yet there is a research gap on the role of workplace ostracism as an antecedent of stress for nurses. This study aimed to consider the effect of workplace ostracism on the perceived stress of nurses while considering the moderating role of perceived organizational support. METHODS: This study is quantitative. A time-lagged survey was conducted in private and public hospitals of Pakistan. Data were collected from 241 nurses. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software and analysis of a moment structures (AMOS) software were employed for data analysis, such as bootstrapping analysis, Sobel test, and regression analysis. RESULTS: Results demonstrated that workplace ostracism is positively associated with stress, while perceived organizational support has a moderating relationship. Perceived organizational support mitigates the adverse effects of workplace ostracism on nurses. CONCLUSION: This study contributes significantly to nursing literature by identifying workplace ostracism as one of the significant antecedents of stress for nurses. Perceived organizational support shows that employees are cared for and appreciated by the organization, which lessens the strength of perceived stress due to workplace ostracism.

Exploring Women's Multi-Level Career Prospects in Pakistan: Barriers, Interventions, and Outcomes.

Utilizing the relational framework of diversity management and social role theory, this exploratory study illuminates the career prospects of women working in the patriarchal society of Pakistan. With the help of Nvivo 12 Plus, themes were generated based on 27 in depth, semi-structured interviews. The findings showed an interrelated web of factors interacting at three levels; macro, meso, and micro; that were explained on the premises of the social role theory. Major impediments to women's career progress were religious interpretations, socio-cultural factors and Sifarish (i.e., favoritism/nepotism) at the macro-level. At the meso-level, the barriers involved segregation, discrimination, harassment, and lack of work-family balance initiatives at the workplace. The micro-level obstacles involved personal values and needs, queen bee syndrome and a lack of awareness. The experiences of Pakistani women varied based on socio-economic status, marriage, religion and various aspects of individual identity, that intersected with gender and accordingly affected their career outcomes either positively or negatively. Therefore, the study also contributes to the emergent area of intersectional studies which posits that individuals experience various facets of identity concurrently and that these factors do not operate separately but are interrelated and interact. Moreover, the study also highlights the interventions for creating gender parity like clarification of Islamic guidelines, strict accountability of workplace policies, and the provision of work-family balance support. The outcomes highlighted by the respondents included happiness, confidence, agency, and improved quality of life. The paper concludes with implications for theory and practice, limitations, and future research avenues.