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Purpose Corporate sustainability is an evolutionary strategic management concept that has now attained much attention both in literature and practice. In the present globalization and digital age, the competitive strengths of technology management (TM) and TQM practices are widely accepted but to what extent these strategies can interact and impact the sustainability performance is unknown. The purpose of this paper is to portray the significant role of TM and TQM in pursuing corporate sustainability performance (CSP) and to investigate their integrated relationship as a common framework. Design/methodology/approach This is a survey-based empirical research that has been carried out by means of development of a survey questionnaire and its distribution to multifaceted business organizations in a developing country. Random sampling technique was used for the data collection from companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). Response from 209 companies was found useful for analysis in the study. After confirming the questionnaire items for reliability and validity (content, criterion-related and construct validity) correlation, regression, factor analysis, path analysis and mediation analysis were performed through SPSS and AMOS to assess the composition and causal association of factors. Findings Statistical results show that TQM does not only significantly impact CSP but also has an impact on each CSP dimension (economical, social and environmental sustainability performance), whereas TM has an insignificant direct effect on CSP and impacts economical sustainability dimension only. From nine hypotheses, two hypotheses are rejected suggesting that TM does not directly impact social and environmental sustainability. However, when mediation analysis was run by taking TQM as a mediator, the total effect of TM on CSP found significant suggesting that TQM significantly impacts the relationship. Research limitations/implications Paucity of response data can be a limitation for such empirical research. Due to practical limitations and risks in the data presentation of mixed cultural dimensions, the data was collected only from in country organizations. Moreover, respondents in the local country do not keenly participate in such surveys because of a gap between the industry and academia. Practical implications The study attempts to examine the practice and performance levels of CSP, TQM and TM among multi industries, thereby, extending a better understanding of the prevailing situation with regards to these concepts in a developing country. Though the results of the study confine local inferences but the findings can be generalized to other part of the world if further research is carried out with more data. Social implications The study outcomes draw the attention of the country’s executive leadership and the industrial boards toward the implementation of the most top-ranked agenda of sustainability performance in connection to quality and TM practices. One of the major findings reveals that local organizations are primarily more focused toward economical sustainability dimension, however, benefits of economical stability can be improvised to attain environmental and social sustainability performances with desired concentration on technology advancement and TQM culture and practice. Originality/value The study is unique in the prescribed scope which has been carried out in a developing country with focus on strategic concepts, and their interacted relationship, of CSP, TQM and TM in form of proposed research framework. This framework can be used or further investigated for validation, by practitioners and managers working to lead sustainability management in respective areas.

In this paper, we present a new design of hollow, out-of-plane polymeric microneedle with cylindrical side-open holes for transdermal drug delivery (TDD) applications. A detailed literature review of existing designs and analysis work on microneedles is first presented to provide a comprehensive reference for researchers working on design and development of micro-electromechanical system (MEMS)-based microneedles and a source for those outside the field who wish to select the best available microneedle design for a specific drug delivery or biomedical application. Then, the performance of the proposed new design of microneedles is numerically characterized in terms of microneedle strength and flow rate at applied inlet pressures. All the previous designs of hollow microneedles have side-open holes in the lumen section with no integrated reservoir on the same chip. We have proposed a new design with side-open holes in the conical section to ensure drug delivery on skin insertion. Furthermore, the present design has an integrated drug reservoir on the back side of the microneedles. Since MEMS-based, hollow, side-open polymeric microneedles with integrated reservoir is a new research area, there is a notable lack of applicable mathematical models to analytically predict structural and fluid flow under various boundary conditions. That is why, finite element (FE) and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis using ANSYS rather than analytical systems has been used to facilitate design optimization before fabrication. The analysis has involved simulation of structural and CFD analysis on three-dimensional model of microneedle array. The effect of axial and transverse loading on the microneedle during skin insertion is investigated in the stress analysis. The analysis predicts that the resultant stresses due to applied bending and axial loads are in the safe range below the yield strength of the material for the proposed design of the microneedles. In CFD analysis, fluid flow rate and pressure drop in the microneedles at applied inlet pressures are numerically and theoretically investigated. The CFD analysis predicts uniform flow through the microneedle array for each microneedle. Theoretical and numerical results for the flow rate and pressure drop are in close agreement with each other, thereby validating the CFD analysis. For the proposed design of microneedles, feasible fabrication techniques such as micro-hot embossing and ultraviolet excimer laser methods are proposed. The results of the present theoretical study provide valuable benchmark and prediction data to fabricate optimized designs of the polymeric, hollow microneedles, which can be successfully integrated with other microfluidic devices for TDD applications.

In this paper, we present design, fabrication and coupled multifield analysis of hollow out-of-plane silicon microneedles with piezoelectrically actuated microfluidic device for transdermal drug delivery (TDD) system for treatment of cardiovascular or hemodynamic disorders such as hypertension. The mask layout design and fabrication process of silicon microneedles and reservoir involving deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) is first presented. This is followed by actual fabrication of silicon hollow microneedles by a series of combined isotropic and anisotropic etching processes using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching technology. Then coupled multifield analysis of a MEMS based piezoelectrically actuated device with integrated silicon microneedles is presented. The coupledfield analysis of hollow silicon microneedle array integrated with piezoelectric micropump has involved structural and fluid field couplings in a sequential structural-fluid analysis on a three-dimensional model of the microfluidic device. The effect of voltage and frequency on silicon membrane deflection and flow rate through the microneedle is investigated in the coupled field analysis using multiple code coupling method. The results of the present study provide valuable benchmark and prediction data to fabricate optimized designs of the silicon hollow microneedle based microfluidic devices for transdermal drug delivery applications.

Purpose – Pakistani aviation industry is at the initial stage of its evolution and is undergoing transformation to a high-tech developed industry. However, the processes and practices in this industry are quite primitive and lack performance-measuring techniques for decision makers. The available literature in the total quality management (TQM) suggests a set of standardized factors for evaluating the performance of any organization. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a research with a view to judge the applicability of these TQM factors for measuring the performance of any aviation manufacturing organization in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach – This research is focussed on performance evaluation of aviation manufacturing industry of Pakistan through TQM. Eight well-established dimensions of TQM frequently used by renowned researchers were used for an evaluation of the Pakistani Aviation Manufacturing Industry (PAMI), namely top management support, quality information availability, quality information usage, employee training, employee involvement, product/process design, supplier quality and customer orientation. An additional dimension of factual approach to decision making was also used based on the outcome of the pilot survey. Both qualitative and quantitative survey techniques were used for gathering the data for subsequent empirical analysis. Findings – The authors found that the suggested model of measuring organizational performance in PAMI was in general agreement with the TQM model of renowned researchers and can be useful tool for evaluation of quality profile of PAMI organizations. Research limitations/implications – During qualitative interviews with the top management, it was found that some of the PAM organizations did not have the complete data and information about their customers and markets, as well as company's human resource effectiveness, and supplier's performance. Although some of them had started maintaining it recently, but comprehensive longitudinal data were not available, which is quite useful for taking correct decisions. Practical implications – The outcome of this research is expected to contribute in the shape of a TQM measuring tool for decision makers in order to evaluate the performance of any aviation manufacturing organization of Pakistan. This model is, however, required to be empirically tested for its applicability in other regions as well for its generalization. Originality/value – This paper deals with the cross-sectional analysis study of the manufacturing organizations of the Pakistani aviation industry for application of TQM practices. It is an original work undertaken by the authors of this paper where various models have been studied and most commonly used dimensions have been utilized for testing the Pakistani aviation industry.

In this paper, we present design of a transdermal drug delivery system for treatment of cardiovascular or hemodynamic disorders such as hypertension. The system comprises of integrated control electronics and microelectromechanical system devices such as micropump, micro blood pressure sensor and microneedle array. The objective is to overcome the limitations of oral therapy such as variable absorption profile and the need for frequent dosing, by fabricating a safe, reliable and cost effective transdermal drug delivery system to dispense various pharmacological agents through the skin for treatment of hemodynamic dysfunction such as hypertension. Moreover, design optimization of a piezoelectrically actuated valveless micropump is presented for the drug delivery system. Because of the complexity in analysis of piezoelectric micropump, which involves structural and fluid field couplings in a complicated geometrical arrangement, finite element (FE) numerical simulation rather than an analytical system has been used. The behavior of the piezoelectric actuator with biocompatible polydimethylsiloxane membrane is first studied by conducting piezoelectric analysis. Then the performance of the valveless micropump is analyzed by building a three dimensional electric-solid-fluid model of the micropump. The effect of geometrical dimensions on micropump characteristics and efficiency of nozzle/diffuser elements of a valveless micropump is investigated in the transient analysis using multiple code coupling method. The deformation results of the membrane using multifield code coupling analysis are in good agreement with analytical as well as results of single code coupling analysis of a piezoelectric micropump. The analysis predicts that to enhance the performance of the micropump, diffuser geometrical dimensions such as diffuser length, diffuser neck width and diffuser angle need to be optimized. Micropump flow rate is not strongly affected at low excitation frequencies from 10 to 200 Hz. The excitation voltage is the more dominant factor that affects the flow rate of the micropump as compared with the excitation frequency. However, at extremely high excitation frequencies beyond 8,000 Hz, the flow rate drops as the membrane exhibits multiple bending peaks which is not desirable for fluid flow. Following the extensive numerical analysis, actual fabrication and performance characterization of the micropump is presented. The performance of the micropump is characterized in terms of piezoelectric actuator deflection and micropump flow rate at different operational parameters. The set of multifield simulations and experimental measurement of deflection and flow rate at varying voltage and excitation frequency is a significant advance in the study of the electric-solid-fluid coupled field effects as it allows transient, three dimensional piezoelectric and fluid analysis of the micropump thereby facilitating a more realistic multifield analysis. The results of the present study will also help to conduct relevant strength duration te...

The concept of sustainability has gained due attention and recognition over the years, which has fundamentally broadened the scale of organizational mission in three dimensions of sustainability. To attain sustainable performance, organizations have been using various strategies, among which is Total Quality Management (TQM) that is recognized as the most famous. The ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard can also be beneficial to address sustainability concerns amongorganizations. This study identifies both TQM and ISO 14001 as important strategies to examine influence on sustainable performance including economic, social and environmental sustainability. Through a survey of 92 organizations, it was found out that high-TQM organizations were better in performance and sustainability. On the other hand, EMS standard implementation does not significantly influence economical and social sustainability but significantly influences environmental sustainability and overall sustainability performance. The study brought clarity to the matter that TQM can outperform within each sustainability dimension, and that EMS is more influential to environmental performance.

Abstract-One of the major drawbacks of transdermal drug delivery (TDD) systems has been their inability to deliver the drugs through the skin at therapeutically desirable range. To overcome this limitation, use of microneedles is gaining popularity. In this paper, the use of microneedles has been proposed for the transdermal drug delivery applications. By using the processes developed by microelectronics industry, the hollow cylindrical silicon microneedles array has been fabricated with microneedles having the tapered tip for easy skin insertion. Mask layout design and fabrication steps involving deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) using silicon wafers is first presented. The process is followed by actual fabrication of silicon hollow microneedles by a series of combined isotropic and anisotropic etching processes using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching technology. The performance of the microneedles is numerically characterized by using structural and coupled multifield analysis. To predict the stress distribution and model fluid flow in coupled multifield analysis, finite element (FE) and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis using ANSYS has been used. Flow rate through the microneedles is investigated at different voltages and frequencies using multiple codes coupling method. The analysis of the flow behavior by coupled field method and structural characteristics provides useful data to fabricate optimized design of the hollow silicon microneedle based drug delivery device for transdermal drug delivery applications.Keywords-Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis, Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE), Drug delivery, Hollow silicon microneedle, Transdermal drug delivery (TDD).